European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, in charge of Promoting the European Way of Life, will start a tour of European capitals on Thursday 5 December in Athens to gather food for thought on the future European ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’ that the Commission "von der Leyen" will present in February or March.
The Athens stop will be followed the next day by a trip to Ankara, Schinas said on Monday, 2 December, at the end of the EU home affairs ministers' meeting.
The intention of the two officials is to visit all EU capitals by early 2020. Our mission will be to "build bridges" between different opinions on the reform of the European asylum system and to develop "effective solutions", but in line with "the values we defend", the Vice-President stressed.
For Mrs Johansson, it will also be a question of putting "facts and figures" back into this debate where tension has often dominated.
However, the two leaders have not disclosed anything about the content of the Pact except that all Member States must show solidarity. But this can be done in "different ways", Schinas noted, suggesting that mandatory relocation of migrants in the EU would not be a central aspect of the reform.
For the rest, the two leaders presented to the ministers their other priorities, which are security and the fight against terrorism, but also information systems and their interoperability. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)