On Monday 23 June, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, sent European leaders a new progress report on legislation published and work undertaken in the field of migration and asylum. Meeting on 26 June, the EU27 will encourage “an intensification of work”, according to the European Council’s second draft conclusions.
Ms von der Leyen returned to the new regulation on returns and pointed out that “with a view to accelerate the implementation of certain aspects of the Pact, the Commission also proposed to frontload two key elements from the Pact: first, the possibility to apply the accelerated or border procedure in relation to applicants coming from third countries with a recognition rate [in the granting of international protection] of 20% or lower, and second, the possibility to designate safe countries of origin and safe third countries with exceptions”. Such an approach would give Member States “more flexibility by excluding specific regions or clearly identifiable categories of individuals”, she adds, urging EU legislators to speed up the work.
Discussions with Senegal. The President also gave an update on the agreements signed with third countries to prevent illegal arrivals into the EU. After Turkey, Egypt, Tunisia and Mauritania, she is now looking at Senegal.
“With Senegal, we plan to start discussions on a strategic and comprehensive partnership. For now, €30 million of support to Senegal is dedicated to preventing illegal migration and supporting sea rescue. In fact, departures from Senegal in the first three months of this year have decreased by 71% compared to the same period in 2024, though readmission levels remain a serious concern”.
Instrumentalisation. The President is said to have asked the European Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner, to visit “Libya soon”. Given the situation “and observing a possible use of migration for political ends, we also need to be able to engage with the various actors on the ground”, she stressed.
Syria. Ursula von der Leyen confirms that the Commission is preparing “guidance for an EU coordinated approach to allow beneficiaries of international protection to benefit from temporary ‘go-and-see’ visits to Syria, with the aim of facilitating sustainable returns to the country”.
Legal migration. The European Commission is also announcing new ‘Talent Partnerships’ with third countries, including a pilot ‘Legal Gateway Office’ with India, which will be a one-stop shop for information and assistance for professional mobility to the EU and will be launched soon.
“The focus would be on attracting skilled researchers, professionals and students starting with the ICT sector”, says Ms von der Leyen.
Several texts in the ‘Pact’ put Poland at risk. At a meeting with the press on 23 June, the Polish Deputy Minister of the Interior, Maciej Duszczyk, also took stock of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU, welcoming the Commission’s new proposals, in particular the possibility for Member States to set up return centres or ‘hubs’, as authorised by the draft regulation on returns (see EUROPE 13659/1).
However, the minister acknowledged the complexity of the issues raised by these hubs, including “when and where?” and the legal aspects involved, as “the Italian model with Albania is not working very well”.
While Rome has referred a question to the Court of Justice of the EU for a preliminary ruling on these famous outsourcing centres in Albania, which have been challenged on several occasions by the Italian courts, the Deputy Minister indicated that Poland had joined Italy in this case.
For the rest, Maciej Duszczyk came back on Warsaw’s refusal to apply part of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, as communicated to the Commission in a communication on the Pact and not a national implementation plan.
The regulations on the screening of migrants, the border procedure or ‘Crisis’ could in fact “compromise the security” of Poland, which is suffering from hybrid threats on its border with Belarus.
These rules would weaken the national response by encouraging Member States, for example, to create new reception capacities in order to apply them. Warsaw, on the other hand, intends to apply the ‘positive’ parts of the Pact, such as Eurodac, which is likely to strengthen security, said a source.
In any case, the deputy minister said he was prepared to face up to possible infringement proceedings after mid-2026, the official date on which the Pact will come into force.
On this occasion, he also praised the greater effectiveness of Polish measures, such as the temporary suspension of the right to asylum in response to the actions of Belarus, which is expected to be extended further.
Link to Ms von der Leyen’s letter to the EU27: https://aeur.eu/f/hhx
Link to the European Council’s draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/hhv (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)