National ambassadors of the Member States to the EU continued their discussions, on Friday 28 January, on how to take forward the Pact on Migration and Asylum ahead of the informal meeting of the EU Interior Ministers scheduled for 3 February in Lille (see EUROPE 12877/4).
The Presidency had submitted a note to this effect detailing the gradual approach it wished to follow, organised in particular on the basis of a prior agreement on verification controls at the EU’s external borders (through the ‘filtering’ regulation), on a strengthening of returns and on a solidarity component via a voluntary agreement on relocations, in particular of people rescued at sea, inspired by the Valletta agreement.
“Member states agree on this gradual approach”, a source said, “but positions have not moved that much” on the content, including the issues of vetting or voluntary relocation, which remain “open”.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will himself meet the EU Interior Ministers on the evening of 2 February to take the Pact forward, but also to discuss the reform of the Schengen area.
In an interview with La Voix du Nord, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said that ministers will examine “ways of imposing on countries with borders to the outside of the EU a better control of these borders, the registration of all foreigners, background checks and the sharing of files”.
“This is called responsibility. In return, the other countries undertake to take on part of the costs of border control and part of the asylum seekers. This is the whole point of the migration pact”, he stressed. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)