The Member States once again debated, on Wednesday 31 May, the draft mandates for the regulations on asylum and migration management (AMMR) and asylum procedures (APR), with the aim of the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council being to reach a political agreement on these two texts at the ‘Home Affairs’ Council on 8 June.
The Presidency also hopes to make progress on the ‘Crisis’ Regulation, which it has proposed to merge with the Regulation on the instrumentalisation of migration.
Two further meetings are scheduled, on Monday 5 and Wednesday 7 June, and the outcome of the meeting on 5 June could already give a good indication of the Swedish Presidency’s chances of obtaining these two mandates, or at least the political green light for them.
Member States continue to be divided between those who believe that the balance between solidarity and responsibility has not been achieved and those who believe, on the contrary, that the texts presented are relatively stable and that any substantial change could cause this balance to be lost.
New texts of mandates will be submitted for Monday’s meeting, this time containing figures on the annual relocation commitments required, but also on the annual adequate capacity at EU level to carry out the border procedure or on the annual cap for border procedures.
On Wednesday, the Presidency had focused the discussions on these quantified commitments, which it wants to be ambitious, according to a note dated 26 May, and on the compulsory compensation mechanisms “when the relocation commitments do not reach 60% of the total relocation needs identified in the EU Council’s implementing act or in relation to the minimum threshold set in the Regulation”.
At the end of 2022, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU had proposed commitments of between 5,000 and 10,000 relocations to be achieved annually, but more recent compromise texts no longer mention detailed figures.
According to one source, the Med5, i.e. the frontline countries in the south of the EU (Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus), feel that the latest texts are going in “the right direction”.
But there is “still work to be done” before these countries can approve these two projects, with the Med5 hoping that the balance between solidarity and responsibility will better reflect the obligations imposed on them by their geographical location.
Elements of consensus
In this note, the Presidency explains that it has already identified several areas of agreement, notably during the latest discussions held on 3 and 17 May.
On the APR regulation, the Presidency considers, for example, that there is agreement between Member States on the fact that the exclusion of families with children under the age of 12 from the so-called border procedure should not be automatic.
Countries such as the Netherlands and France are calling for families with young children to be included in this procedure in order to assess all possible risks to internal security. Germany, for its part, is in favour of the Commission’s initial text, which creates an exclusion for children under the age of 12.
Applications from unaccompanied minors will only be processed under the border procedure if the minor is considered a danger to national security or public order.
As far as the AMMR regulation is concerned, the Presidency believes that it has reached a provisional agreement on the fact that - with regard to the ‘Dublin’ criteria which determine the country responsible for an application - “there will be no extension of the definition of family members to cover siblings, and no new criterion on diplomas and other qualifications”.
In addition, there will be “a flexible solidarity mechanism in which the contributing Member State has full discretion about the type of solidarity contribution relocation, financial or other measures where relevant which are of equal value. No Member State will ever be obliged to carry out relocations or contribute more than its fair share”, writes the Presidency.
The time limit for the shift of responsibility for all cases of absconding will be set at 3 years.
Links to documents: https://aeur.eu/f/751 ; https://aeur.eu/f/752 ; https://aeur.eu/f/753 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)