On Thursday 19 April, Germany's Interior Minister Horst Seehofer hosted European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos in Berlin to discuss migration and controls at the internal borders of the Schengen Area – controls that Germany notably operates at sections of its borders with Austria and that it intends to prolong for six months.
As regards migration, the press conference was the opportunity to announce Berlin's plan to host 10,200 further refugees (4,600 and 5,600 in the second year) from North Africa and the Middle East as part of the EU's resettlement programme for 2018 and 2019. Seehofer underlined the need to open routes of legal migration and to stem the illegal arrivals by sea that can lead to refugees drowning.
According to the Commission's resettlement plan presented last September, at least 50,000 people, mainly from countries close to Libya like Niger, but also from Ethiopia, should be resettled in the EU by autumn 2019.
The issue of the EU's external borders was also addressed, as well as the controls inside the Schengen Area. Avramopoulos has asked Germany to remove its controls as quickly as possible. Berlin has already announced that it has stopped checking passengers systematically who arrive in Germany from Greek airports. The Commission commended this on Thursday 19 April. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)