Citizens' Rights and Individuals
June 5, 2024
Rights, Flights and Eurosceptics at the 2024 European Elections
5 Jun 2024 – Written by Ed Biggins & Ignacio Berreta Sartini
The number of asylum applications has been on the rise in recent years, reaching over 1 million in 2023, with the war in Ukraine displacing a further 4.2 million people to Europe. Despite recently adopting a new Migration and Asylum Pact in April 2024, intended to reduce the number of new asylum seekers, speed up the processes, and establish external processing centres, recent polling suggests that migration isn’t as high up peoples’ priorities lists as parties may think.
Nevertheless, the 7 main Parliamentary Groups each have their own stances on and proposals for migration, in addition to a myriad of other social issues, such as abortion, anti-discrimination, and LGBT rights, which are outlined below. More broadly, not all Groups agree on the merits or direction of the European project, and each Groups’ view on the European Union as a whole are also listed below.
Migration
- The European People’s Party are concerned that Europeans need a common approach to manage and control large-scale migration. They believe that in order to mitigate irregular migration, the EU should primarily provide assistance and protection in crisis countries themselves and in their neighbouring areas. In accordance with international law, the European Union should be responsible for determining the number and eligibility criteria for asylum seekers within the European Union. In addition, the Group call for enhanced cooperation with countries of origin and transit and for the development of legal pathways to reduce illegal immigration.
Social Rights
- The EPP are cognizant of the concerns of European citizens regarding their employment, income, pensions, communal life, and personal security. The EPP stress the importance of upholding and strengthening social rights within the EU. The Party support initiatives aimed at reducing social inequalities and improving access to social protection, healthcare, education and housing. The EPP also focused on the importance of digital transformation ensuring social inclusion and access to public services for all citizens.
Euroscepticism
- The EPP believe that the advancement of the European model is of paramount importance if European values are to exert an influence in a rapidly evolving global context. For the party, a strong, united and reshaped European Union acting together as one is best suited to face the challenges and threats the Union may face nowadays. Thus, the European Union is constrained to act in a robust and autonomous manner as a collective entity.
Migration
- The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) advocate for a European migration and refugee policy based on solidarity and shared responsibility among the EU member states. S&D emphasise the need for a coordinated approach to manage migration effectively, ensuring the protection of migrants’ and refugees’ rights and dignity. The party stress the importance of a holistic approach that integrates migration policies with other EU policies such as foreign policy, development cooperation, human rights, among others.
Social Rights
- The S&D advocate for social rights to be given equal priority to economic and environmental goals. They also focus on enhancing job quality, ensuring affordable housing, decent income and proper minimum wages. The party goal is to ensure all Europeans can enjoy a decent standard of living and work.
Euroscepticism
- The S&D address Euroscepticism by highlighting the risks it poses to European unity and democratic values. In addition, the party emphasise the importance of the EU standing up for its values and engaging with civil society. They think this can counteract negative sentiments and ensure that the EU remains a beacon of democracy and rule of law for its citizens and member states.
Migration
- Renew Europe support the EU finding a common and sustainable migration policy, having most recently supported the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact through Parliament. They juxtapose themselves with the far-left and far-right parties which they say have “only delivered fantasy and populist solutions”, and further outline their policies on migration in the Renew Europe Vision for a European pact on Migration and Asylum which are said to be based on principles that are transparent, humane and sustainable.
Social Rights
- Renew Europe believe that the European “common values of democracy, human rights, and respect for the rule of law are what truly connect us”. Their main policies on social rights including support for the anti-spyware special inquiry committee PEGA – upholding the right to safe and legal abortion – plans to declare Europe an LGBTIQ Freedom Zone and to implement transnational candidate lists for European elections to make them “truly European”.
Euroscepticism
- Renew Europe support the European project, stating “Reuniting Europe through a genuine and deep process of integration of all European countries, from East to West and from North to South, must remain a key element of our Europe of the future.”
Migration
- The G/EFA do not support the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact believing that “parties across the political spectrum let themselves be dragged towards far-right migration policies”, and instead would prefer an extension to the Temporary Protection Directive.
- The G/EFA want illegal pushbacks at the EU’s border to end, for climate visas to be issued to victims of natural disasters, and for the mandate and responsibility of Frontex to be extended.
Social Rights
- The G/EFA’s manifesto lays out the Group’s plans to assess the EU Anti-Discrimination framework and update the Horizontal Anti-discrimination Directive to “effectively counter discrimination against racialised communities and ensure equal rights and treatment for all”.
- The manifesto also includes pledges to create universal access to childcare, abolish tax regimes that discriminate against women, advocate for the right to safe abortion, end gender-based violence, renew the LGBTQIA+ Equality Strategy to include the right to self-determination, implement the EU Action Plan Against Racism and extend the right to vote to 16 year olds.
Euroscepticism
- The G/EFA are broadly pro-European, supporting intervention and close cooperation between Member States.
Migration
- The ECR advocate for a two-pronged approach to tackling illegal migration: to change EU rules to enable financing of border infrastructure, so as to share the costs among Member States, and to tackle the root causes and driving factors behind migration. The ECR take inspiration from the Australian model, and their policies include support for regional disembarkation platforms to process claims outside the EU, reforms to the asylum network and pledges to strengthen Frontex and Europol.
Social Rights
- Of the 11 ECR Group priorities, only one relates to the protection of fundamental freedoms. This priority includes a breakdown of just four subsections, on supporting digital freedom and transparency, advocating for the continuation of online anonymity, fighting anti-Semitism and fighting “all forms of extremism”. Women’s rights, among others included by other Groups, are not mentioned in the ECR’s priorities.
Euroscepticism
- The ECR are soft-eurosceptics – they reject the dichotomy of “more Europe or no Europe”, and instead look to support cooperation between states without impeding on the autonomy or sovereignty of confederal institutions. The ECR support further EU enlargement as a geostrategic investment in peace.
Migration
- One of the six main pillars listed on ID’s website is titled “Identity” and is described as “political alliance based on the preservation of peoples’ identity, immigration control”. The Group believe that national identities should be embraced, respected and preserved, and therefore oppose uncontrolled mass migration and “the possible EU accession of a non-European country like Turkey”.
- However, in May 2024, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party were forced out of the ID group after a series of scandals. Some reports suggest that the split between AfD and the other main parties in ID began in January, after an investigation revealed that AfD politicians took part in a meeting in which “remigration plans to deport foreigners and unassimilated citizens were discussed”. Marine Le Pen, head of National Rally (second largest party in ID), stated she was in total disagreement with those plans.
Social Rights
- Tino Chrupalla, president of AfD, and former member of ID previously stated at the ID Party Congress in November 2023 that “we want to defend the values of democracy and respect for identities. We are here to build a new Europe according to our values and our way of life.” As stated in a previous article in the series, ID are running in 2024 without a formal manifesto, and so it is difficult to discern the Group’s social rights policies.
Euroscepticism
- ID are regularly termed as eurosceptics, although they themselves have employed the term ‘sovereigntist’ to express their views on Europe in a more positive light.
Migration
- The Left firmly oppose the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, arguing it reinforces failed policies focused on deterrence, containment, and external border strengthening, compromising human rights and asylum rights. They criticise the Pact for enabling migrant detention, including families, and accelerating border procedures. The Left advocate for alternatives prioritising human dignity, solidarity, and lawful, safe migration to Europe.
Social Rights
- The Left are dedicated to the advancement of social and labour rights as a fundamental aspect of their political agenda. They advocate for a transition from neoliberal policies to more progressive policies that prioritise full employment, fair working conditions, higher wages and comprehensive social protection. They support the redistribution of wealth, robust public services and measures to combat poverty and social exclusion. Their objective is to establish a European legal framework for adequate minimum income schemes and ensure access to quality public healthcare and education.
Euroscepticism
- The Left in the European Parliament comprise political parties with democratic socialist, communist and soft-Euroscepticism views. Their criticism is clean in the EU current neoliberal economic policies and governance, instead of prioritising social justice and workers rights over market-driven approaches.
This factsheet is part of our EU Election 2024 series.
Read the other articles in the series below, or from our Series page.
International Security
May 30, 2024
Environment and Climate Change
May 22, 2024
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Recommended citation:
Biggins, E., Berreta Sartini, I. (2024) Rights, Flights and Eurosceptics at the 2024 European Elections, 5 June. Available at: https://idrn.eu/rights-flights-and-eurosceptics-at-the-2024-european-elections/ [Accessed: dd/mm/yyyy].