Brussels, 12/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, wrote on Wednesday 11 May to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to inform them of his intention to make the issue of migration in the Mediterranean region one of the main points to be discussed at the European Council in June. This came as a response to the joint letter from Sarkozy and Berlusconi on 26 April in which the two leaders called for reform of Schengen area governance, including the authorisation for member states to temporarily re-establish internal border controls (see EUROPE 10365). Van Rompuy writes that the June meeting could tackle the following points: 1) Free movement of persons within the EU. A fundamental acquis communautaire is at stake and must be fully safeguarded. The existing rules on the free movement of persons must be applied in a comparable manner in all member states, which is essential if mutual confidence is to be assured. Van Rompuy also considers that lessons must be drawn from the system set in place, the functioning of which must be assessed. He writes, in particular, that there must be reflection on the possible improvements that could be made to measures allowing for temporary suspension of full application of the Schengen provisions, in exceptional and strictly delimited situations. 2) Asylum rules. On several occasions, the European Council called for a common system to be set in place by 2012 and the Commission has put proposals forward in this respect, Van Rompuy points out. In this context, he writes, it will also be necessary to take account of certain recent developments such as the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights which has a direct impact on Dublin II. 3) Partnership with southern rim Mediterranean countries and external border control. It is foreseen that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, as well as José Manuel Barroso and Catherine Ashton, report to the heads of state and government in June, Van Rompuy announces. He stresses it is necessary to adjust the existing tools as soon as possible and to review the competences of the key players, Frontex and Europol. These efforts should be completed by in-depth and operational dialogue with the third countries concerned. (H.B./transl.jl)