Fourteen European leaders met on the morning of Thursday 26 June for the now traditional breakfast devoted to migration before the opening of the European Summit.
Organised by Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy, it brought together the leaders of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Poland and Sweden, as well as the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, for the first time. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is also taking part in these breakfasts, which were introduced in 2024.
According to a note from the Italian government, this informal meeting brought together the Member States “most interested in the topic of innovative solutions to be applied to the management of the migratory phenomenon and in particular the strengthening of the legal framework on returns”.
Ursula von der Leyen presented the Commission’s main areas of work in the field of migration, focusing in particular on the state of negotiations on the latest legislative proposals in this area, according to the memo.
As well as “expressing satisfaction with the results achieved so far by the informal group of nations most interested in innovative solutions”, the President of the Italian Council, Georgia Meloni, also “outlined some new strands of work, starting with the follow-up to the open letter of 22 May on international conventions and their capacity to respond to the challenges of irregular migration”, namely the European Convention on Human Rights (see EUROPE 13648/20).
For Bart De Wever, the Belgian Prime Minister, this informal meeting functions as “a pressure group” that wants “much stricter policies” on migration, he said on Thursday morning, “because it is necessary”.
See the conclusions of the European Council: https://aeur.eu/f/hlm (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)