ECR Co-Chairman Nicola Procaccini said that the new Return Regulation shows that Europe can change course when political will replaces ideological deadlock.

Speaking in the European Parliament debate ahead of the European Council meeting, Procaccini said Europe should draw the right lesson from the migration debate: long-standing mistakes can be corrected when policy is guided by realism, security and common sense. Turning to the Council’s priorities and the most urgent challenges facing Europe, he said: “The priority that must guide European leaders is the continent’s strategic competitiveness. But competitiveness is not manufactured in Brussels offices: it is built on the ground, encouraged with common sense and defended with firmness.”

On China, Procaccini warned that Europe must move from rhetoric to a more realistic policy towards Beijing, saying:

“Europe must respond firmly to unfair competition, imbalances in critical raw materials, and a total lack of reciprocity that risk suffocating our productive fabric:”

Procaccini underlined that Europe must continue to stand with Ukraine, maintain political pressure on Iran, and defend its external borders against illegal mass immigration.

“There can be no economic space without the right security framework. That means not wavering in our support for the Ukrainian people and not wavering in political pressure on the Iranian regime,” he said.

Procaccini also pointed to the forthcoming vote on the new Return Regulation as proof that new majorities in Europe can correct the mistakes of the past and deliver a more realistic migration policy.

“With the new Return Regulation, Europe becomes master of its own destiny again. Those who have no right to political asylum will be swiftly returned to where they came from, while those who truly have that right, those who deserve it through their professional skills and their willingness to share our system of values, can be welcomed,” he said.

He added that conservatives had long been mocked for calling for migration to be managed outside Europe’s borders rather than through endless relocation inside the EU.

“Only a few years ago, when we conservatives in this House and the Italian Government in the Council called for a shift from relocating migrants in Europe to managing migration outside Europe’s borders, we were mocked, crushed by a majority deaf to reason. Today, a new majority inspired by common sense is about to remove one of the most painful thorns from the heart of European peoples,” Procaccini said.

ENDS

Procaccini’s full speech reads:

Thank you, President.

The priority that must guide European leaders at the next Council is the continent’s strategic competitiveness. But competitiveness is not manufactured in Brussels offices: it is built on the ground, encouraged with common sense and defended with firmness.

That means, first of all, changing our attitude towards the Beijing regime. Europe must respond firmly to unfair competition, imbalances in critical raw materials, and a total lack of reciprocity that risk suffocating our productive fabric.

But there can be no economic space without the right security framework. That means not wavering in our support for the Ukrainian people and not wavering in political pressure on the Iranian regime. Security also means being able to defend Europe’s borders against illegal mass immigration.

We are only a few hours away from a historic vote. With the new Return Regulation, Europe becomes master of its own destiny again. Those who have no right to political asylum will be swiftly returned to where they came from, while those who truly have that right, those who deserve it through their professional skills and their willingness to share our system of values, can be welcomed.

In the past, the left-wing utopia of borders open to everyone prevailed. The result was thousands of deaths at sea, the escalation of human trafficking, and decay and danger in our cities.

Only a few years ago, when we conservatives in this House and the Italian Government in the Council called for a shift from relocating migrants in Europe to managing migration outside Europe’s borders, we were mocked, crushed by a majority deaf to reason. Today, a new majority inspired by common sense is about to remove one of the most painful thorns from the heart of European peoples.

So let us do the right thing, for ourselves and for those who will come after us.