Member States’ experts will continue their work on 8 September on the draft regulation on the instrumentalisation of migration, proposed in December 2021 with the reform of the Schengen Borders Code (see EUROPE 12853/1).
A first working meeting took place in July and a first compromise from the Czech Presidency of the EU Council will be submitted to the meeting on 8 September.
As a reminder, the Regulation is intended to authorise Member States to adjust the crossing points at their external borders and to modify the way they process asylum applications when they are faced with a situation where migration is being instrumentalised.
The proposal was inspired by the events on the border with Belarus in autumn 2021. The reform of the Schengen Code has also introduced elements related to instrumentalisation, including a definition of instrumentalisation.
The Czech Presidency’s compromise discussed on 8 September thus takes up some of the concepts already included in the Schengen Borders Code, such as the definition of instrumentalisation: “a situation in which a third country or non-state actor encourages or facilitates the movement of third-country nationals to the external borders of the EU or to a Member State with the aim of destabilising the Union or a Member State and where such actions are likely to put at risk essential functions of a Member State, including the maintenance of law and order or the safeguard of its national security”.
The compromise also adds a reference to the situation of Cyprus vis-à-vis the northern part of the island. Although the demarcation line does not constitute an external border, it follows that a situation in which a third country or non-state actor encourages or facilitates the movement of third-country nationals across the demarcation line must be considered as instrumentalisation”, the compromise reads.
The text also amends certain aspects of the urgency procedure for asylum and migration management, which may apply in these circumstances to all arrivals. It also specifies the permitted derogations, such as processing times or in-depth interviews of asylum seekers, which may be waived in certain cases.
The text, which also covers emergency return procedures, also refers to solidarity measures between Member States when one of them is concerned by a situation of instrumentalisation. This support will be “voluntary”, and may include relocations to other member countries, the compromise says.
Link to the text: https://aeur.eu/f/2yb (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)