On Friday 9 May, the European Commission released an additional €3 billion to support Member States in implementing the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’ and for hosting Ukrainian refugees, announced its President, Ursula von der Leyen, at a meeting with the new German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on the same day.
This additional funding, which was announced in March in a letter from the President (see EUROPE 13601/15), comes from the revision of the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF: €1.8 billion) and from a top-up to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Border Management and Visa Instrument (€1.2 billion), according to a press release.
Member States will be able to use this support until the end of 2027.
The two leaders discussed the issue of migration against a backdrop of tougher measures at Germany’s internal borders.
The German government plans to, among other things, send back migrants who have arrived at its internal borders, the new Chancellor having based his decision on the Dublin rule, which stipulates that asylum applications must be processed in the first country of arrival.
The revised Schengen Borders Code also introduced a new procedure for returning illegal immigrants between Member States. In any case, the Chancellor has assured that the measures envisaged fully comply with European law and that he is in contact with his European partners.
“I want to say to those who are worried that we want to avoid border restrictions at all costs”, Schengen “is an acquis that we want to preserve”, he added. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)