On Friday 8 October in Luxembourg, the Interior Ministers of the EU countries discussed the migration situation, from irregular arrivals via Belarus to new flows in the central Mediterranean and the situation in Afghanistan.
They did so in a context marked by new revelations of pushback, notably at the Greek and Croatian borders (see EUROPE 12807/4) and while 12 countries had asked the Commission that morning to provide, in the framework of the forthcoming reform of the Schengen Borders Code, European funds to build anti-migrant fences at the external borders.
At the end of the meeting, Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said that Member States “have the right to protect external borders and build fences”, but not with EU funds. “I have nothing against the barriers that Member States build”, she said, “but I don’t think EU funds can be used for that”.
Slovenian Interior Minister Aleš Hojs, standing next to her, said that Slovenia supports such a measure.
Above all, the Commissioner said that these barriers would be unnecessary if Member States adopted the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’, which contains “everything that is needed” to address the various problems.
Still no progress on the Pact
The Pact, and in particular its regulation on pre-screening of migrants at external borders, was discussed in Luxembourg, but the Slovenian minister conceded that no progress had been made in adopting the so-called ‘screening’ regulation.
The discussion was “very beneficial”, the minister said, but “there is not enough political will” to adopt the text, with some Member States insisting on the ‘package’ logic in the Pact or having a problem with the substance.
In the morning, the Greek Minister of Migration, Notis Mitarachi, was very clear. “Greece is already doing all the necessary checks; the question is: what will happen when thousands of migrants arrive?”. The minister is also still waiting for an “answer” from the EU.
Ms Johansson also said that external borders will be better protected through the interoperability of European systems. However, here too, the ministers had to acknowledge the delay in implementing this new architecture, which should link all the systems together, such as the Schengen Information System, VIS, ECRIS-TCN, and the new Eurodac database.
As for the allegations of pushback—especially against Croatia and Greece—the Commissioner also said she had raised the issue. She received a “positive” reaction from the Croatian Interior Minister, who had already announced an investigation on 7 October.
But with Greece, contacts were more “tense”, one source said. However, the Greek Minister of Migration pledged on Friday to launch an investigation, as well.
Letter from 12 member countries
The letter, which is supported by Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia, calls on the Commission to take “more decisive [action] against irregular crossings of external borders”, particularly in view of the revision of the Schengen Borders Code in November.
They say that the new law does not address “sufficiently the illegal crossing of external land and sea borders. There are no clear rules on what Member States can do in the event of a hybrid attack involving a massive and artificial influx of irregular migrants”, they write.
And “no specific measures are foreseen for the protection of the EU’s external borders”.
The 12 countries note that the Schengen Code “does not provide for a physical barrier as a measure to protect the EU’s external borders”. However, “the physical barrier appears to be an effective border protection measure that serves the interests of the EU as a whole, not just those of the Member States”. “This legitimate measure should be adequately and additionally financed by the EU budget”, they write.
Link to the letter: https://bit.ly/3akhP7z (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)