Decisions to Deport Thousands of Algerians From the European Union

The latest figures issued by the European Statistical Office “Eurostat” revealed a great tightening in issuing expulsion orders for more immigrants residing illegally on European soil, recording significant numbers in the year 2022.

The EU’s office called on those concerned with the expulsion decisions to leave the soil of the European Union or their names will be included among the EU’s illegal residents.

According to the figures revealed, on Friday, May 5, 2023, a total of 422,400 people, or 23%, were ordered to leave the European Union in 2022, compared to 342,100 people in 2021, according to new figures issued by the European Union office, while it said Algerian clandestine migrants are top of the list of the persons concerned with the European Union’s decision but without providing their number.

The same source indicates that France topped the total number of expulsion orders, with 135,650 people, followed by Croatia with about 40,525 people, then Greece with 33,500 people, the majority of whom were from Algeria, Morocco and Pakistan, according to the European Statistical Office “Eurostat”.

The figures issued by the office confirm that about 96,795 people were deported in 2022, either to a European country or outside the European Union, noting that there are about one million people registered without a residence permit in 2022, an increase of 59%, compared to 2021.

As for the countries that receive those wanted for deportation who do not have legal residence documents, Hungary comes in the lead, followed by Germany and Italy, and the majority of those are from Syria, Afghanistan and Morocco, according to the EU office Eurostat.

This strictness with illegal immigrants comes at a time when European-European relations are witnessing an unprecedented tightening, especially between France and Italy, which are experiencing a diplomatic crisis that caused the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, to cancel a visit that was scheduled for last Thursday to France, despite the apology of the French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna, who said in her statements that “the relationship between Italy and France is based on mutual respect between the two countries and their leaders.”

The reason for this tension is due to illegal immigration. In uncalculated statements, the French Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, accused the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, of failing to manage the file of illegal immigration, even though the Italian government is right-wing and won the recent legislative elections thanks to its employment of the illegal immigration paper.

In this regard, Italy, through the words of its foreign minister, demanded that the French Interior Minister must apologize to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, to correct what he had spoiled with his statements, which were described as “insulting, unjustified, vulgar, and directed at a friendly and ally country, and when someone unjustifiably offends another person at the very least, he has to apologize.”

Riding on this wave, the French right-wing party, represented by the “Les Républicains”, whose leader, Eric Ciotti, is on a visit to the Kingdom of Morocco, decided to employ the immigration file to pressurize President Emmanuel Macron, as his party began preparing a new draft law to combat the phenomenon, after noticing the government’s backtracking on its controversial legislation in this regard.

The disclosure of this project coincided with the visit of the head of the “Republicans” party to the Kingdom of the Moroccan Makhzen, in what appeared to be coordination between Rabat and the political opponents of the French president, to pressurize him at a time when he was living in difficult circumstances, especially since this party’s MPs prevented the fall of Elisabeth Borne’s government a few days ago in a petition for oversight at the level of parliament, against the backdrop of passing the new pension law, which is still igniting the French street.