Member States’ experts continued their discussions on Friday 7 January in the EU Council’s Asylum Working Group on the emergency measures proposed by the Commission on 1 December to enable Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to deal with the migration situation at their border with Belarus (see EUROPE 12844/11). They will return on 20 January to possibly agree on certain aspects of this proposed EU Council decision.
The discussion on 7 January highlighted the reservations of a number of Member countries. They are asking the Commission for clarification on the impact of this proposal on the fundamental rights of migrants, which could allow, for example, less demanding reception conditions than in normal situations, two sources reported.
These countries also question the added value of this text tabled more than a month ago, when the situation has since stabilised.
Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, but also Sweden and Finland have expressed reservations and asked the Commission to provide them, by the next meeting, with all the guarantees for protection of migrants’ rights and the assurance that their basic needs are covered.
The Benelux countries also questioned more generally regarding the added value of this proposal. They want to know whether it is still necessary in view of the current situation on the ground.
“A fairly large number of countries have reservations”, said a diplomatic source, who said it was now up to Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to say whether the proposal was still useful to them. In this case, reservations could be lifted if the Commission addresses fundamental rights concerns in advance.
Some countries, particularly in the south of the EU, are also seeking to understand the link between this proposal and the reform of the Schengen Code presented on 14 December (see EUROPE 12853/1), which introduced a new Regulation to the Pact on Migration and Asylum, specifically on the instrumentalisation of migrants, in order to generalise and perpetuate the measures proposed to the three countries concerned.
The French Presidency of the EU Council has asked Member States to provide it with their comments in order to prepare a compromise for 20 January, which would not yet cover the operational aspects of the decision, the source said.
As a reminder, the Commission has proposed that these three countries can reduce border crossing points, extend registration deadlines, and derogate from certain provisions of the Reception Conditions and Returns Directives for asylum seekers.
The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the subject on Thursday 13 January. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)