European leaders held a brief exchange on migration on Friday, 15 December, during which, as the conclusions indicate, they took note “of the recent letter by the President of the European Commission”, Ursula von der Leyen. In it, the president had outlined all the actions taken by her teams in this area (see EUROPE 13313/5).
The text of the conclusions indicates, “The European Union will continue to pursue a comprehensive approach to migration which combines increased external action, mutually beneficial comprehensive partnerships with countries of origin and transit, addressing the root causes of migration, [and] opportunities for legal migration”.
In the text, leaders also insist on “more effective protection of EU external borders, resolutely fighting organised crime, human trafficking and smuggling, instrumentalisation of migration as a hybrid threat and stepping up returns”.
During the final press conferences, European leaders notably referred to the ongoing negotiations on the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’—which will continue at the beginning of [next] week—with Mrs von der Leyen commenting, “Here we aim for political agreement on the pact by the end of this year”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed a “wish for such an agreement to be achieved hopefully before the end of the year so that we can tackle [this] major reform”. He also pointed out that the number of people arriving in the EU illegally was still “too high”.
As for Giorgia Meloni, the Italian leader said she was “very satisfied” with the paragraph inserted into the conclusions that mentions the work [being undertaken] on the external dimension, the defence of [the EU’s] external borders, the fight against traffickers, and a more effective return policy. See the European Council conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/a60 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with the editorial staff)