EU Mainstream Adopts Hardline Migration Policies

A cultural shift within the European political mainstream is driving a hardening of migration policies across the European Union. Governments in Denmark and Italy have adopted positions previously held by the radical right, leading to a decline in rights-based approaches to migration. This trend indicates that far-right assumptions regarding migration, rights, and belonging are becoming integrated into mainstream European political common sense.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner have faced criticism for a perceived lack of leadership. The European Commission has failed to provide strong political signals to counterbalance national hardening, a failure that became particularly evident during the crisis in Ceuta.