Migration and Asylum: Commission welcomes today’s progress in the Council on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The Commission welcomes that Member States have agreed today to start implementing a voluntary solidarity mechanism by offering relocations, financial contributions and other measures of support to Member States in need. This is a significant step forward for the European Commission’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, particularly on the need to provide solidarity balanced with responsibility. In this respect the Member States agreed to start negotiations with the European Parliament on two key migration management tools: the revised Eurodac database and the screening regulation. This follows the political agreement reached on this first stage of the Pact proposals at the last Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting of 10 June.

This progress is the result of the intense work by the French Presidency, as well as the previous Presidencies, notably Portugal, Germany and Slovenia and is will be taken forward by the incoming Czech Presidency. The Commission stands ready to continue supporting the European Parliament and the Council on this crucial work.

Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, said: “This agreement is a further, unequivocal demonstration of the fact that when Europe is tested, unity prevails. We are putting in place a solidarity mechanism that is voluntary, simple and predictable and that will help immediately alleviate some of the pressure on the Member States that by geography receive the majority of arrivals to the EU. At the same time, the new rules on border and migration management will ensure we have efficient, secure and seamless procedures in place at every border to quickly channel people to the right procedures. I look forward to working now with the European Parliament so we can get these proposals in the statute book and start making a difference to the situation on the ground.“

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, said: “The agreement reached today on migration shows that with pragmatism, leadership and trust Europe can deliver on migration. I thank the French Presidency for its tireless efforts and count now on the Czech Presidency and the European Parliament to continue making significant progress towards finalising the New Pact on Migration and Asylum.“

The Eurodac Regulation aims to modernise the database of asylum seekers and irregular migrants in order to better manage applications and fight against irregular movements. Moreover, the Eurodac database will be better able to monitor movements of people who entered and are illegally staying in the EU and moved from one Member State to another, and indicate the shift of responsibility between Member States, including in cases of relocation.

The Screening Regulation puts in place a pre-entry screening that should be applicable to all non-EU country nationals who are present at the external border without fulfilling the entry conditions, including after disembarkation, following a search and rescue operation. Its objective is to contribute to the new comprehensive approach to migration ensuring that identity, health or security risks are quickly carried out and that all non-EU-country nationals subject to screening are swiftly referred towards the applicable procedure.

The solidarity Declaration is a first step in the gradual implementation of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, as proposed by the French Presidency. It provides a voluntary, simple and predictable solidarity mechanism designed to support the Member States most affected in the Mediterranean as well as other Member States under pressure, including on the Western Atlantic route, by offering relocations, financial contributions and other measures of support. The implementation of this mechanism will provide useful lessons for the permanent mechanism on solidarity to be introduced by the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, as proposed by the European Commission in 2020.

Next steps

The agreement reached today on the Solidarity Declaration will be taken forward by the Solidarity Platform on 27 June with a view to implementing it swiftly and effectively. The Platform will provide a fora for discussion and coordination of transfers and other solidarity measures between Member States under the chairmanship of the European Commission.

The European Parliament and the current and upcoming Presidencies, together with the European Commission, will discuss a roadmap to take forward the all the proposals under the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The roadmap will aim to ensure that an agreement on all proposals is reached by the end of this legislature.

Background

On Friday 10 June, Vice-President Schinas and Commissioner Johansson attended the Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg where Ministers made progress on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, with a large majority endorsing a Declaration on a voluntary solidarity mechanism, paving the way for agreement on the Eurodac and Screening Regulations.