On Thursday 13 June, the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU presented to the ambassadors of the Member States its work on temporary arrangements for the disembarkation of migrants, an alternative to the 'Dublin' system awaiting revision, which the Member States began to discuss in the summer of 2018.
The Presidency presented the progress of its work in a progress report which does not yet specify the migratory routes covered by this system, but repeatedly recalls the voluntary and provisional nature of the regime.
The Presidency's work is largely based on what Member States have done, on a case-by-case basis since 2018, when ships (from NGOs) arrived in European territorial waters.
All Member States would be invited to join, they could relocate migrants rescued and landed in European ports or contribute in some other way. The coordination of these operations would be carried out by the Commission, as was the case in several operations in 2018.
This report was not submitted to the Permanent Representatives for adoption; it was simply intended to take stock of the reflections on this subject at the end of the Romanian Presidency and while Finland will be called upon to resume work from 1 July.
The document therefore does not imply a change in policy in the Member States, which means that it will not prevent Italy and its Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, from refusing the entry of migrant ships into Italian ports as he has already done. Italy's current policy is to prevent the arrival of NGO boats in its territorial waters (see other news).
A number of delegations took the floor on Thursday, most of them, according to one source, to reaffirm their traditional positions. In the field of migration, Italy, in addition to its refusal to receive ships, has always called for increased support from other Member States to take care of rescued migrants at home. Eastern countries, such as Hungary, do not want to relocate and countries such as Austria have also argued in the past that these regimes, even temporary, are likely to cause secondary effects. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)