Brussels, 15/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 15 January, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said that “nothing has been sorted out” with regard to the challenges brought about by the migration crisis and warned of the economic risks which the successive decisions of the member states to bring back controls within the Union could bring about.
Juncker, whose priorities remain economic growth and job creation, despite the fact that the year 2015 was heavily marked by the migration crisis and terrorism, was speaking on the major dossiers of the year 2016 at a Commission press conference on Friday. The major dossiers in question will concern migration and the future of the Schengen zone, but also negotiations with London on the United Kingdom's membership of the Union and the dialogue the Commission wishes to begin with the Polish government on respect for the principles underpinning the rule of law.
Migration crisis. Juncker was particularly critical of the fact that certain decisions approved by the Council of the EU have still not been implemented. It is “not possible” that decisions on “relocation are not transposed” in full today, he stressed. The number of people who have been relocated from Greece and Italy currently stands at just 272 out of the 160,000 the member states pledged to share out.
On the question of migration and the Schengen area of free movement, Juncker criticised the economic costs represented by controls on the internal borders of the EU. He put these costs nearly €300 million for the temporary re-establishment of checks between Sweden and Denmark and €90 million between Denmark and Germany. “For Luxembourg as well, there is a loss of income”, he added. He warned of the impact these measures could have on growth and jobs. “This represents millions (of euros) in road transport and we also have to think about waiting times”, he said, adding that “the way they work at the moment, border controls will cost us €3 billion if things continue”.
He also expressed disappointment at the attitude of certain member states which are “refusing to host refugees on their soil”. He added that it is hard to explain to third countries why “the wealthiest continent is unable to absorb the flow of refugees making their way there” whilst, referring to the example of Jordan, the refugees coming to the EU “are fewer in number than those going to Jordan”.
Juncker reiterated that the European Commission is planning to present initiatives on legal migration and a revision on the Dublin regulation, which could be based on an automatic allocation of asylum seekers to the member states. “We are going to make other proposals. We are not going to wait for the spontaneous agreement of certain member states. We will do what we have to do where we have to do it, in line with the EU's tradition of integration”, he said.
The principle which must steer the EU's action is to ensure that “those who come to us have the option to work legally, (because) those who do nothing for months will never manage to integrate”. “We need to find a system which allows people to integrate”, he stressed.
Finally, the Commission President also referred to the EU/Turkey action plan and the budgetary envelope of €3 billion to help reduce migratory flows. In this context, he was unable to hide his astonishment that Italy is still blocking the compromise on the table, which consists of requesting a share of €1 billion from the Community budget and €2 billion from the member states (see other article).
The British dossier. Juncker said that talks with London had reached a delicate stage and that the questions on the table were “all difficult ones”, not just the question of social benefits for European migrants. Nor are there any “immediate” solutions for the other subjects, specifically the integration of the eurozone, the principal of an ever-closer Union and the questions of subsidiarity and competitiveness, he said. Even so, he went on to say that he was optimistic “that we will have an agreement, not a poor compromise, but a permanent solution in February”, when the European Council is to meet.
Poland and the rule of law. Juncker said that he was saddened at how the debate on the Commission's decision to make use of the rule of law mechanism has unfolded (see EUROPE 11467). “The Commission has no problem with Poland”, but “we do have a problem with a number of initiatives of the government”, he took pains to stress. “Don't let's confuse Poland with the new government in all aspects”, he added. Explaining that he had a great deal of respect for the country, Juncker said that the process underway is still “in its technical phases”, which consists of verifying “whether there is a foundation for these doubts” over respect for the principles of the rule of law. However, he already feels that it is “possible to make changes to certain legislative documents” which have been adopted by the Polish government.
The European elections of 2019. Lastly, Juncker referred to the means of appointing the President of the Commission and the Spitzenkandidaten procedure (one candidate for each European political party). He said that the scenario of the 2014 elections would not necessarily be repeated in 2019. This will not be the case if any failure is noted when his term in office comes to an end, he said, referring to the risk that the EU fails to get the citizens behind the European project. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)