Belgium’s Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor, and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, concluded the ministerial conference on the operationalisation of the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’ (see EUROPE 13401/3) in Ghent on Tuesday 30 April.
The Secretary of State reiterated the importance of the Council of the EU remaining involved in the implementation of these ten or so new laws (which also include elements of the 2016 Asylum Package), even though the Commission will have a role in centralising the implementation work and will shortly publish an implementation plan. The Member States will have to present their first national implementation plans in January 2025.
The meeting was an opportunity, she explained, to discuss both the additional financial support that European agencies such as Frontex or the IOM and the UNHCR might need to apply these new measures, as well as the best practice already being implemented in the Member States.
Ms de Moor cited the Greek and Dutch examples of funding for projects run by asylum seekers, or the example of Cyprus, which has a returns programme with France and Germany.
The meeting provided an opportunity to start identifying the gaps between current financial resources and the estimated requirements for implementing the new legislation. Spain, said the minister, already has a large number of reception centres for asylum seekers, and the idea of this meeting was precisely to begin to anticipate the need for centres or facilities.
The Commissioner, for her part, welcomed the attitude of the Member States, which were fully “ready” to begin implementation. She also welcomed the fact that migration has become less of a priority issue for Europeans than it was 5 years ago, according to the latest Eurobarometer surveys, with Ms Johansson attributing this to the fact that leaders have decided to tackle asylum and migration reform.
She was also pleased that Ireland, which is currently experiencing challenges in managing asylum seekers with the UK, “will be joining the ‘Pact’ after deciding on an opt-in”, which still needs to be confirmed by Parliament. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)