Swedish Democrats call for ‘ban on free movement’ in the EU for migrant criminals ━ The European Conservatives

MEP Charlie Weimers, leader of the European Parliament delegation of the Swedish Democrats (ECR), tabled a draft resolution on Monday, September 30, calling for an EU framework to fight cross-border organized crime by allowing Member States allow travel bans to be imposed on convicted offenders within the Schengen zone, thus protecting the integrity of the EU’s area of ​​free movement.

In particular, the document calls on the European Commission to introduce an “individual freedom of movement ban (IBFM)” that would apply to career criminals, repeat offenders and “anyone aiding or assisting organized crime gangs.”

In practice, the framework would give Member States the power to ban the entry of criminals based on certain criteria, and in some cases (such as repeat offenders of members of known organized crime groups) even to issue ‘lifetime entry bans’.

Furthermore, the resolution calls for the framework to automatically apply to “anyone who has illegally crossed external borders, and to subject these persons to mandatory detention until they can be deported.”

The idea of ​​automatically issuing lifetime entry bans on illegal migrants is based on the so-called ‘Australian model’ or ‘No Way’ policy, which has proven to be one of the most effective deterrents to illegal entry over the past decade and therefore serves as a model policy for the European Right, even though it is rejected time and time again by mainstream parties.

But the need for drastic action is becoming increasingly clear as news of organized crime groups spreading violence across Schengen borders becomes commonplace in Western Europe. The problem is particularly acute in Sweden, where local migrant gangs are now regularly expanding their activities outside the country, forcing neighboring states such as Denmark, Norway (and even Iceland) to take special measures and even consider restoring hard borders with Sweden.

The Swedish Democrats’ draft resolution justifies its call for action by pointing out some obvious truths that the European Parliament has ignored for too long, starting with the fact that the only way to preserve free movement across Schengen’s internal borders the introduction of effective external borders. controls, which is still missing from the EU policy framework.

More in depth, the document also explains that the “massive” increase in illegal entries in recent years has resulted in “parallel societies” that often finance their existence through criminal activity; that economic differences between Member States stimulate secondary movements within the Schengen area, especially from the southern ‘frontline states’ to north-west Europe; and that cross-border crime leads not only to financial and social disruptions, but also to a “loss of confidence in national authorities and EU institutions.”

If Parliament were to adopt this resolution, it would not only force the Commission to respond, but it would also mean finally recognizing these facts, allowing for a more constructive debate on illegal migration in Brussels. However, it is safe to assume that the centrist EPP and the ‘Ursula coalition’ of left-wing parties will simply reject it in plenary rather than admit that their approach has been wrong all these years.

That is, if the document is allowed to reach the plenary at all and is not immediately thrown out by Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE). LIBE is now chaired by Tomas Tobé, another Swedish MEP representing the EPP and who was the rapporteur of the new Migration Pact, the EU’s flagship policy package that has been criticized for years by the right for effectively leaving the external borders wide open. for illegal entry.

But with organized crime currently the top issue in Tobé’s home country of Sweden, his Moderate party also made the fight against migrant criminal gangs a priority. At the September plenary meeting, Tobé identified organized crime as one of the biggest threats to Europe’s internal security and called for joint EU action by strengthening Europol’s mandate – although he did not make any link between crime and migration.

Once the Swedish Democrats’ resolution is in LIBE, “we will see if the EPP group really wants to do everything” to stop these criminal gangs, Weimers wrote on X. “Hopefully Tomas Tobé can convince his group to support our initiative . ”