Published on •Updated
Activists behind the far-right “Save Europe Act” campaign are taking the European Commission to court after it refused to register a petition calling for a suspension of legal migration channels and the “remigration” of legal third-country nationals deemed “unintegrated”, to prevent what organisers describe as “demographic replacement”.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The Commission rejected the initiative on Thursday, arguing it would discriminate on the grounds of race and ethnic origin and was therefore “manifestly contrary” to EU values, prompting organisers to announce legal action.
“We believe the Commission acted against European law by preventing citizens from asking for specific measures,” Austrian activist Martin Sellner, the movement’s leader and a leading advocate of remigration, told Euronews. He said the group’s legal team is ready to file a lawsuit as early as Monday.
The petition calls for a temporary suspension of “non-Western immigration channels”, including study and family reunification visas.
It also seeks the return to their countries of origin not only of irregular migrants but also of legally resident non-European nationals who are “unintegrated” or considered a “serious cultural or financial burden” on member states.
The concept of “remigration” has gained traction among some far-right parties across Europe.
According to the campaign’s website, it is backed by nationalist figures including Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, Spain’s Santiago Abascal, Romania’s George Simion and Italy’s Roberto Vannacci.
A European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) that is deemed admissible must be considered by EU institutions if it gathers one million signatures from at least seven member states.
The Commission must then explain what action, if any, it intends to take, while the European Parliament is required to hold a hearing with the organisers and may also vote on a resolution.
The campaign says it has already gathered nearly 600,000 signatures informally and last week held a demonstration of around 200 supporters outside the European Parliament in Brussels, demanding the initiative be registered.
The Commission said the proposed suspension of migration channels was based on the ethnic, cultural or civilisational origin of those concerned, rather than the individual case-by-case assessment required under EU law.
“The decision [to refuse registration] is a righteous act,” said Greens/EFA MEP Cristina Guarda, who described the petition as “hate propaganda promoted by the far right”.
Guarda and other lawmakers staged a counter-demonstration outside the European Parliament last week to coincide with the activists’ protest.