Following the June EU summit, where vague plans to create centres were revealed, the European Commission on Tuesday presented a proposal to kick-start a detailed discussion process among member states.

As a consequence of political pressure from Italy, Germany and other European countries want a system in which only asylum seekers with a high chance of getting asylum status in an EU state will be allowed into Europe.

The EU therefore wants to work with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to set up platforms in Africa where the preliminary “resettlement" decision can be made."Resettlement" is for UNHCR refugees that are in foreign countries but can be sent to an EU state.

Relocation, on the other hand, in the EU migration jargon is for people who are already in EU territory and have a high chance of getting asylum status in an EU state.

However, critics of the EC proposals warn that the documents include little to no details on how these centres and platforms will look like, or how much the setup and operation of them will cost European taxpayers.

Certainly not ‘Camps’

Following the disastrous treatment of people in need on overcrowded Greek islands and in Italy, the EC is keen to differentiate between controlled centres and camps.

They propose to start a pilot project to test the concept. To avoid disagreement between EU governments on financing the centres, the EU would pay all setup and operation costs and equip them with experts from various EU agencies.

Furthermore, the EU proposes to pay governments 6.000 euros for each person taken from rescue boats and sent to the newly created centres.

The idea is to avoid months of waiting in the centres by making a pre-screening decision in 72 hours. Those who qualify will get a definitive decision within eight weeks.

Weakness of the plan

Governments and migration experts both raised concerns related to the plans when it comes to find an agreement with the origin countries where the platforms should be created.

No country in north Africa has yet agreed to host such platforms, first proposed by the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration.

Libya is excluded from the programme, while Tunisia turned down the plan, leaving Algeria, Egypt, and Morocco as possible candidates.

On the other hand, the European Commission promises that its latest schemes with North African states will be done in "partnerships on an equal footing".