The president of the European Council admits that the debate on the new rules of the European Union (EU) on migration, at the informal meeting in Granada on Friday, “will be difficult”, and calls for “more intergovernmental cooperation” against irregular migration .
“This is a difficult debate, it is a European challenge. Therefore, when we talk about the future of the EU, this is clearly part of the debate. I am not saying [que seja uma discussão] toxic, but I say difficult, challenging,” said Charles Michel, in an interview with the Lusa agency and other European media in Brussels.
Days before the informal European Council, held in Granada by the Spanish presidency of the EU and focused on debates on migration, the official stressed that there are already “some converging pragmatic elements”, particularly after a debate last Friday in Malta between countries Mediterranean of southern Europe.
“We are really going to fight against traffickers, not only in speeches, not only in conclusions, but to act and, for that, we need more intergovernmental cooperation. This is not a problem for the European Commission, it is not a problem for “It is a question of national judicial systems across the EU cooperating much more with third countries and with each other to address, combat and ensure that we fight traffickers and trafficking,” said Charles Michel.
Last Thursday, progress was made in the negotiations on the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, after Germany backtracked and said it would vote in favor of the compromise proposal on regulating the crisis, the piece that still remains. to be approved to complete the reform. of community standards.
This will be a solidarity mechanism to integrate equity into the EU asylum system and will be based on relocation or sponsored returns.
In June, EU Member States agreed on a general approach to reforming asylum rules and the package has since been discussed by co-legislators (European Council and Parliament).
The objective is to have a final agreement (given the necessary negotiation process) before the European elections in June 2024, to equitably share responsibilities between Member States and act in solidarity when addressing migratory flows.
According to Charles Michel, “there are two dimensions” to take into account in this immigration management reform.
“The internal part, on which the Spanish presidency is working to reach an agreement on migration and we will see what decision is made regarding the member states […] and the external dimension”, then focused on cooperation with third countries.
In a draft of the conclusions of the Granada summit, to which Lusa had access, it is stated that “irregular migration must be addressed immediately and decisively.”
“We will not allow criminals to decide who enters the EU,” the document states.
The debate on migration is then scheduled for the informal European summit on Friday, and the day before there is a meeting of the European Political Community, also in Granada, with leaders from more than 40 countries (EU and others).
On that occasion, topics such as the current conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh will be discussed and, on this topic, Charles Michel said he was “extremely dismayed and extremely disappointed by Azerbaijan’s decision to mount a military operation” against Armenia.
Another issue will be tensions between Kosovo and Serbia, and the president of the European Council noted that “violence is unacceptable.”
Created in 2022, the European Political Community is a platform for political dialogue on the European continent.
Source: TSF
