On 26 June, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who could be reappointed to this post by the European leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 June, sent them a new letter on recent developments in European migration and asylum policy.
While the EU27 will have a short debate on the subject, the Commission is particularly interested in the possibility of looking into innovative solutions to counter illegal immigration, in particular solutions for outsourcing asylum, as requested by fifteen countries in May (see EUROPE 13411/3).
“Agreement on the Pact is not the end of reflection on the tools at our disposal. Many Member States are looking at innovative strategies to prevent irregular migration by tackling asylum applications further from the EU external border. There are ongoing reflections on ideas which will certainly deserve our attention when our next institutional cycle is under way”, writes the president.
She also states that work will be carried out, as provided for in the new Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR), on new forms of cooperation with safe third countries.
“We can work upstream on migratory routes and explore ways of developing these models further. Drawing on the route-based approach being developed by UNHCR and IOM, we can seek to support the setting up of functioning national asylum systems in partner countries while strengthening our cooperation on returns to countries of origin accompanied by reintegration measures for returnees”.
The Commission will continue to “support these reflections, always heeding international law, and conscious of the need to work in ways that are also acceptable to our partners and that enable durable solutions to be found for the migrants themselves”, adds the President.
She also highlights the instrumentalisation of migration, particularly by Russia on the border with Finland, or by Belarus on the border with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania. “We will therefore need to continue reflecting on strengthening the EU’s legal framework to provide for an appropriate response not only from a migration but also from a security perspective in line with the Treaties”.
Apart from this, the President focuses mainly on the ‘Pact’ and the various agreements with third countries such as Tunisia, Mauritania and Egypt.
“So far this year the number of illegal border crossings into the EU on the Central Mediterranean route are down by 60%, and on the Western Balkans route by 72%. Since May, there have been no new boat arrivals to Cyprus. All this shows that constant, targeted, Team Europe engagement brings results”, comments the president.
“At the same time, the significantly increased arrivals on the Western Mediterranean and Atlantic route, as well as the Eastern Mediterranean route, show we must never drop our guard, and we must remain vigilant in the summer months ahead”.
Link to the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/ctn (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)