The Secretariat of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) has drawn up draft questions for the Commissioner-designate for Internal Affairs and Migration, Austrian Magnus Brunner, who, like his colleagues, may attend a hearing in early November.
According to this draft document seen by Agence Europe, the candidate chosen by Ursula von der Leyen for this post will be asked five major questions: migration and asylum, external borders, internal borders, security and access to personal data for law enforcement agencies.
On migration and asylum, the Austrian candidate will obviously have to say how he intends to monitor the implementation of the ‘Pact’ adopted in the spring, which should be operational by 2026.
“The new Pact on Migration and Asylum introduces a legislative framework that establishes a comprehensive system, balancing solidarity and responsibility, protecting fundamental rights - especially for minors - and ensuring coordinated search and rescue operations. How will you monitor the timely progress of the administrative, operational, and legal steps required to be taken by Member States and EU agencies for the full entry into force of the Pact by summer 2026, and how will you address any delays in meeting the Common Implementation Plan benchmarks”, is one of questions in the draft document.
“What steps do you plan to take to ensure sufficient and timely EU funding for Member States and agencies for the smooth application of the Pact? (...) What actions will you take to foster a culture of data sharing and mutual trust?”, MEPs are expected to ask.
The elected representatives may then turn their attention to the new European strategy on returns, promised by the President-elect of the Commission. “What legislative steps do you intend to take? Can you confirm that you consider mutually recognised return decisions a necessary tool in this context, and how will you strengthen readmission policies to facilitate successful returns?”
Mr Brunner will be expected to provide his vision of “global partnerships with third countries” that fully respect fundamental rights, at a time when many third countries want to test mechanisms for externalising asylum or revisit the issue of safe countries by eliminating the need for a connecting link.
Magnus Brunner will also have to take a stance on the new channels for legal migration, also mentioned by Ms von der Leyen in her mission letter.
As far as external borders are concerned, the candidate will have to provide some concrete details on how to increase the number of officials at Frontex to 30,000, as Ursula von der Leyen announced during the vote on her reappointment last July.
“What changes to the mandate of Frontex, if any, do you consider necessary to accompany the planned growth of the agency and ensure that it remains fully accountable and transparent?”.
The Austrian will also have to reassure MEPs about a possible further postponement of the EU’s ‘Entry/Exit’ regulation (see other news).
On the subject of the Schengen area and internal borders, the Austrian is not expected to have an easy task: how could he fully re-establish the area of free movement when some Member States (including his own) have been carrying out internal controls for years? “How do you intend to ensure that the integrity of the Schengen area is restored and preserved? What steps do you envisage in order to reinforce sincere cooperation and mutual trust among the Member States and to ensure that all Member States fully respect the Schengen acquis? Will those measures include infringement proceedings against the Member States that do not respect the rules?”
Based on the draft, he will also be asked about the date on which Romania and Bulgaria will be able to join the Schengen area in full, which has also been blocked to date by Austria.
On police access to personal data for investigative purposes, the candidate to succeed Ylva Johansson is expected to be questioned on the issue of encryption and the possibility of moving towards a legislative initiative on the subject and on the regimes of exceptions to data protection, as well as on how to unblock the proposed regulation on child sexual abuse material online (CSAM).
“Should this not be possible prior to the lapse of the second extension of the Interim Regulation, due on 3 April 2026, have you already considered an alternative legislative solution to avoid a legislative gap?”, also states the draft question document.
Meeting in Luxembourg on 9 October, the EU’s interior ministers will nevertheless be asked to make a fresh effort to adopt the draft CSAM regulation. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)