The European Union’s Interior and Foreign Affairs Ministers agreed in a joint videoconference meeting on Monday 15 March to propose more comprehensive partnerships, including trade or the use of the ‘Erasmus’ programme, with third countries of origin and transit of migrants, and not just based on security cooperation and the return of irregular migrants.
They also suggested meeting “at least once a year” in a ‘Jumbo’ Council formation, Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita said, although the two formations had not met for 6 years at the peak of the migration crisis.
According to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, it is not possible to manage migration “without a strong partnership” with these countries and the “entirety” of relations must be taken into account. It is also necessary, he said, to talk about legal migration opportunities “which must be part of the equation” in order to encourage people not to take dangerous routes to the EU.
The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, has also called for “tailor-made partnerships” to be offered to third countries. But the politics of the stick is also part of the response, with the Commissioner reiterating her intention to use the revised EU Visa Code against third countries that do not cooperate sufficiently with the EU on migrant returns and readmissions (see EUROPE 12677/1), as she said on 12 March.
In concrete terms, however, little emerged from the joint ministerial meeting. Legal migration, especially for economic purposes, is currently the ‘poor relative’ of the Migration and Asylum Pact. But the European Commission has planned to set up ‘talent partnerships’ for young people from third countries in 2021.
At EU Council level, Member States are ready to move forward on the proposed Blue Card Directive, but it only covers highly skilled migrants. Tools remain scarce for unskilled and low-skilled migrants.
The Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council wants to make progress during its six-month term on an enhanced dialogue with five North African countries: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Egypt.
The EU-Turkey agreement is good
Asked about the migration agreement between the EU and Turkey concluded on 18 March 2016, Mr Borrell said it had produced “good results” and that it should be renewed.
This EU-Turkey declaration has helped reduce migration flows to the EU and “improve the situation of migrants and refugees in Turkey”, the High Representative added. He said that refugees—especially Syrian—in Turkey “still need our help” and that Ankara should continue to be helped to manage this “burden“. “It is in our common interest”, he said. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)