European leaders held a brief exchange on migration on Thursday 20 March, taking stock of the progress made, particularly in the light of the recent letter from the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (see EUROPE 13601/15).
In the conclusions it adopted, the European Council encourages further work “in particular on the external dimension, notably through comprehensive partnerships, the implementation of adopted EU legislation and the application of existing legislation, the prevention and countering of irregular migration, including through new ways in line with EU and international law”.
They are also calling for work to continue on: - efforts to facilitate, increase and accelerate returns “using all relevant EU policies, instruments and tools”; - the concepts of ‘safe third countries’ and ‘safe countries of origin’; - the fight against instrumentalisation, human trafficking and smuggling; - visa policy alignment by neighbouring countries; - safe and legal pathways “in line with national competences”.
The European Council also reiterates the EU’s determination to strengthen the security of its external borders and to ensure their effective control. It also calls on the co-legislators to make progress, as a priority, on issues with a migration dimension, and invites them in particular to swiftly examine the recent Commission proposal on returns (see EUROPE 13597/17).
On Thursday morning, a group of countries brought together by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and her Danish and Dutch counterparts, Mette Frederiksen and Dick Schoof, held their now traditional breakfast on migration in the presence of Ms von der Leyen and António Costa, President of the European Council. The leaders of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Poland, the Czech Republic and Sweden were present. The meeting provided an opportunity to welcome the Commission’s proposal on returns and to call for progress to be made as quickly as possible on the expected texts revising the concept of ‘safe third countries’ and creating a list of safe third countries of origin, according to an Italian press release.
Link to the conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/g1s (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)