Lawmakers criticize von der Leyen for quick deals on North Africa migration ahead of key votes – POLITICO

In ‘t Veld was among a number of lawmakers who criticized the strategy of von der Leyen, who is seeking a second five-year term as president of the EU executive. With just two months until the European elections, von der Leyen is seen as likely to win another term, but a number of recent open challenges to her tactics suggest that opposition to her second term may be stronger than expected within the European liberal and social democratic camps.

Migration is a top concern for politicians ahead of June’s European elections and ahead of a series of decisive votes in the European Parliament on Wednesday, where lawmakers will decide whether to accept a comprehensive migration and asylum policy. EU-wide plan which has been years in the making.

The deal will significantly change how the bloc restricts the entry and movement of migrants into EU countries, and effectively make it easier to deport rejected asylum seekers.

While calling migration agreements with EU neighbors “indispensable”, French centrist MP Fabienne Keller said: “The agreements with Egypt and Tunisia are not the right models for us.”

Slovenian Social Democratic MEP Matjaž Nemec shared this opinion. Nemec said: “To be honest, these types of agreements go against European values. The question mark would be: are we helping the people or are we helping the regime?

However, at the same press conference, far-right Spanish lawmaker Jorge Buxadé welcomed the agreements and urged the Commission to sign similar agreements with Morocco and Algeria to combat what he called “mafia” human traffickers.

Swedish lawmaker Tomas Tobé, from the same center-right European People’s Party as von der Leyen, said it was important to have more agreements like these. “Some aspects of these countries are problematic, but they are our neighbors,” he said, adding that these countries are necessitated by the absence of a unified European migration policy.

“I would say that if we vote against the migration pact now, then you will see even more member states taking these kinds of initiatives,” he warned.