On Thursday 26 January, the interior ministers of EU Member states held an informal meeting in Stockholm to discuss how to strengthen cooperation with third countries in the return and readmission of irregular migrants to the European Union.
On this occasion, the ministers asked the Commission to make “new proposals” to the Member States, summarised Swedish Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard, including in the area of restrictions in visa policies, if necessary, as to date only Gambia has been ‘sanctioned’ by the EU for its poor cooperation (see EUROPE 12807/32).
Many Member States are also under “pressure” from irregular migration flows and “some countries have more asylum seekers than in 2015 and 2016”, she commented, referring to “a real problem”, and a challenge to the “legitimacy of asylum systems”.
Pointing to the lack of cooperation from some unnamed third countries, the minister said the discussion had focused on using “all the tools”, from visa policy (and Article 25-a of the Community Code on Visas, which allows, for example, for visa fees to be raised) to “trade, development aid or legal channels”. Work is also needed to develop “new tools”.
For her part, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, acknowledged the difficulties for some Member States, which sometimes also host Ukrainian refugees. Here she valued the new competences of Frontex, which can relieve Member States of the burden of return. She said she was encouraged by the willingness of Member States to move forward on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, “which is on the right track”.
Austrian plan
Ahead of the meeting, Austria submitted a 5-point action plan to its partners. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, whose government also advocates EU funding to build physical infrastructure at the EU’s external borders, came to ask for measures to combat “asylum abuse”, according to a statement.
Specifically, the Austrian plan includes: - pilot projects for asylum procedures at the EU’s external border; - the financing of border protection and related police operations; - the creation of a legal basis to “push back” migrants from states whose likelihood of staying in Europe “is extremely low, such as India”; - the creation of a legal basis for asylum procedures in safe third countries, i.e. the outsourcing of asylum applications, as already done in Denmark; - facilitating the withdrawal of refugee status and the deportation of offenders.
When asked about EU funding measures for anti-migrant walls, Commissioner Johansson reiterated the institution’s position: Member States are free to protect the EU’s external border, but without specific EU funding.
These rather drastic Austrian measures will be submitted again to the European Summit on 9-10 February, as Vienna, together with other countries, has demanded a discussion on migration.
The Netherlands also produced a concept note for the Summit, but did not mention pushback. However, according to Dutch Interior Minister Eric van der Burg, the problem is real and “far too many people are arriving in Europe from across the Mediterranean”, he said on Thursday morning.
Link to the Presidency’s summary: https://aeur.eu/f/53p (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)