The respective positions of Member States on how to manage migration flows and assist countries under pressure have still not changed.
A discussion on how to move the Common Asylum System forward (see EUROPE 12328/8) organised on 14 November by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU within the Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA) did not present any surprises as to the already evident divisions.
Member countries have continued to split into front-line countries, which are anxious to see a mandatory mechanism put in place, and others, particularly in the east of the EU, which have always opposed this idea. Several countries also raised the principle of having mandatory border procedures, an idea, again, that is rejected by other countries, including those referred to as the “front-line”.
The Presidency’s idea is, among other things, to stimulate reflection on the direction that the future Pact for Asylum and Migration should take, as promised by the President-elect of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. These avenues are expected to be formalised for the December meeting of the Interior Ministers, which should address this subject as part of a broader discussion on migration.
No decision was taken at this meeting of the group, one source indicated, stating that the objective was to remain focused on the principles on which the Member States agree and how to implement them.
Member States were also asked on Thursday about the degree of harmonisation to be set for the elements of the ‘Asylum’ package. They reportedly converged on the need for more targeted harmonisation and conveyed this message to the future Commission.
Another meeting was held on Friday 15 November, bringing together on the SCIFA group and the High Level Group on Asylum and Migration on the same subject. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)