Latest news with #Italian-Albanian
Euractiv
7 days ago
- Politics
- Euractiv
EU's migration Zeitenwende must include all, no opt-outs, Danish minister says
Kaare Dybvad, Danish minister for integration and immigration, hopes Denmark's Council presidency can push returns forward, downplaying Dutch hopes of getting their own opt-out in an interview with Euractiv. Since Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen seized power in 2019, Dybvad has served as minister in her different governments and now holds the migration portfolio. As such, for the next half a year, Dybvad will sit at the end of the table when EU migration ministers meet. On Tuesday, he hosted his European counterparts and EU migration chief Magnus Brunner for an informal gathering in Copenhagen. What follows is an edited transcript. Denmark has been a vocal backer of 'return hubs.' What exactly is your position, and how widely supported is this idea across the EU? Dybvad: We support the return hubs as a concept. I'd say most European countries, at least the ones I've heard from, support return hubs in some form. Of course, there are concerns – especially about safeguarding human rights and monitoring conditions. But broadly, this approach is seen as a way to ensure that more people are actually returned. Is there any progress on where these return hubs might be located, or which third countries are in play? That's tricky. You don't get the countries before you get the deal. If you want these arrangements, you need to negotiate first – not announce names in advance. But I don't see it as harder than other agreements already out there. The Italian-Albanian deal, for example, shows it can be done. If the EU negotiates as a bloc, it has leverage. More broadly, there seems to be a shift across the EU toward stricter migration policy. Do you see this as sudden or something more gradual? It's been a gradual change. When I started three years ago, Austria was basically the only one supporting our line. Now that's changing – and the biggest shift came from Germany. Their new government openly supports abolishing the connection criteria. That's key to making third-country arrangements legal under EU law. Denmark has had an opt-out on justice and home affairs since the 90s – what role does that play in Denmark's position as a broker on migration issues? I've had that conversation with the former Dutch asylum minister, Marjolein Faber. She was very interested in getting one for the Netherlands. But honestly, I don't think the opt-out does a lot. There are areas where we don't vote or get affected by decisions, sure. But when it comes to real migration outcomes – lower numbers, better control – it's more about efficient return policy and coordination with neighbours. That matters more than any opt-out. At the European level, in the Council with the EU countries, how do you see Danish migration policy affecting other countries? I don't know if our migration policy directly affects other countries, but I think that we proved that you can, from a centre-left perspective, handle these problems, that you can get democratic control of migration policy. And I hope, and this is also what some of my colleagues say, that this inspires others to try to get better control, and to do it from a standardised and left position instead of letting far-right parties run with this agenda. Do you see other centre-left parties, your colleagues in S&D, adopting your stance on this? Aren't you pretty alone on the centre-left? I'm seeing a lot of centre-left parties, social democratic parties, and governments that are huge in this policy. In Austria, you have the SPÖ; in Germany, you have the SPD in government with the Christian Democrats. In Belgium, the Flemish social democrats are part of the coalition government. In Sweden, you'll see the opposition social democrats now also changing their policy. So I think I see it in quite a lot of places right now. And of course, many of the Central and Eastern European social democrats also have quite a strict policy. The Maltese government, which is social democratic, has also introduced some very strict migration policies. There are a lot of sovereign democrats and governments in Europe right now implementing some of the policies that we have tried to implement. But in the European Parliament, the Socialists are led by the Spanish delegation, one of the biggest, and far from your line. How do you get them on board? That's going to be a discussion in the coming half year, of course, from our side. I hope people will be reasonable, and that at least the delegations from different countries will look at their own countries and see what is working, and how we're actually implementing policy at the domestic level. And I'd say for the Spanish side – if I could get some kind of agreement like Spain has with Morocco, we would very much like that. I think there are some very effective migration policies that have been introduced by the Sánchez government – and at least from my side as a minister, I'm very jealous of that. (mm)
Kuwait Times
19-05-2025
- Sport
- Kuwait Times
Bernardeschi double as Toronto hit Montreal for six
MIAMI: Former Juventus winger Federico Bernardeschi scored twice as Toronto FC romped to a 6-1 win at Canadian rivals Montreal in Major League Soccer on Saturday. Canadian forward Theo Corbeanu added a brace as Toronto took full advantage of the Eastern Conference's bottom club being reduced to 10 men in the 21st minute when Joel Waterman was sent off. Toronto were 1-0 up at that point thanks to a goal thanks to a fine breakaway goal from Trinidad international Tyrese Spicer. Waterman was shown a straight red card for his late, lunging challenge to bring down Norwegian Ola Brynhildsen who was surging goalwards and from then on it was one way traffic. Bernardeschi doubled the lead in the 30th minute with a confident right-foot finish and then Brynhildsen made it 3-0 with a tap-in after good work from Maxime Dominguez. Montreal hit the woodwork twice before half-time but Toronto put the game beyond any doubt when Bernardeschi produced a superb solo strike into the far corner to make it four. After Montreal pulled a goal back through their Italian-Albanian striker Giacomo Vrioni, substitute Corbeanu's twin strikes completed the rout. 'Obviously, this is a tough place to play, a big rival, and I thought the performance was very mature, very composed, and through some good patient play we were able to find some really good opportunities,' said Toronto head coach Robin Fraser. 'Make no mistake to go down a man early, put Montreal in a very, very difficult situation. 'But as we've all seen at some point, just to be a man up doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have success. 'Fede (Bernardeschi) was so dangerous almost every time he touched it,' he added. New York City enjoyed a 2-0 derby win at Citi Field against the New York Red Bulls, taking the lead in the 13th minute thanks to a brilliant long-range effort from Alonso Martinez. Red Bulls goalkeeper Carlos Coronel made an awful error in the 50th minute to gift the ball to Martinez on the edge of the box and he fed Maxi Moralez who shot into the unguarded goal. 'Rivalry weekend' In the Ohio derby, Columbus Crew fought back for a 1-1 draw at home to FC Cincinnati but left disappointed not to have taken all three points. In-form striker Kevin Denkey put the visitors ahead from close-range in the sixth minute but the Crew drew level with a 54th minute penalty from Diego Rossi after Nick Hagglund was ruled to have handled in the box. Columbus piled on the pressure in the latter stages but Cincy's back-line held firm with goalkeeper Roman Celentano making a series of excellent saves. The draw allowed the Philadelphia Union to take over at the top of the Eastern Conference, leapfrogging Cincinnati with a 1-0 win at struggling Atlanta. Zionist entity's Tai Baribo's 59th-minute penalty, a league-leading 11th of the season, secured the win for Philadelphia and condemned Atalanta to their eighth straight game without a win. Gregg Berhalter's Chicago Fire enjoyed a 4-1 win at Charlotte with talented American prospect Brian Gutierrez scoring twice in the victory. Minnesota United, second in the West, continued their impressive campaign with a 3-0 win over St. Louis with former Inter Miami midfielder Julian Gressel scoring his first goal for the club. USA international Jack McGlynn offered another reminder of his powerful left foot with a 20-yard screamer to put Houston ahead in the Texas derby at Dallas with a thundering Griffin Dorsey finish completing a 2-0 win. In the Cascadia derby, Albert Rusnak put the Seattle Sounders ahead in the 30th minute at Portland before Santiago Moreno levelled for the Timbers six minutes later in a 1-1 draw. 'Rivalry weekend' continues on Sunday with Inter Miami hosting Orlando City and the 'El Trafico' clash between struggling Los Angeles Galaxy and Los Angeles FC. – AFP
