Speaking in Strasbourg on Tuesday 12 December, European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos was very critical of European Commission President Donald Tusk’s intention to call on European leaders to end definitively the system of compulsory quotas of asylum seekers to be relocated. At a press conference, the Commissioner said the proposal was “unacceptable and anti-European” and undermined “all that has been done” in recent years.
In a letter to member states ahead of the discussion on migration, which will also address domestic issues such as reform of the Dublin regulation and which was discussed by member state sherpas for the first time on Monday 11 December, Tusk proposes that EU leaders hold an “open and frank” discussion on Thursday evening on what is to be done about the compulsory relocation systems that have met constant opposition from certain parts of the Union.
Tusk’s argues that these compulsory quota systems have been “divisive” and have received a disproportionate amount of attention compared with their real impact on the ground. “In that sense, we have proved ineffective”, Tusk says in his letter. His intention is to sound out the member states on Thursday evening on what is to be done with these quotas and to try to find a solution by June of next year.
In Commissioner Avramopoulos’s view, Tusk “is ignoring and neglecting the work that has been done over recent years”. He suggests that the European Council’s role is to preserve unity and European principles and that this document undermines one of the “pillars of the European project” that is solidarity. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)