Debate: EUCO conclusions: the need for the speedy finalisation of the Road Map
Date: WEDNESDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2023
Speaker: Mairead McGuinness
Language: EN

At the last plenary, President von der Leyen presented the Commission’s view on the way forward. As the President proposed in her letter to EU leaders, the European Council clearly recognised migration as a European challenge that requires a European response, and this is the right and only approach.  It was a European response that made it possible to defeat the hybrid attack by Belarus in 2021. A European response made it possible to welcome millions of Ukrainian refugees fleeing Putin’s bombs last year and indeed this into this year. Only a European response will allow us to manage migration properly, taking advantage of the potential of legal migration and reducing irregular migration in a humane and effective manner. The lesson learned is clear: we need to act together.  As proposed by the Commission, EU leaders agreed that the EU needs to act on two tracks: legislative and operational. Only a comprehensive renewal of our legal framework can offer a strong and sustainable foundation for EU action. The new pact on migration and asylum will make sure different work streams mutually reinforce each other, with a clear framework and rules on solidarity and responsibility.  Alongside the pact, the Commission has also made other proposals: to step up the EU’s capacity to strengthen our external borders; to ensure that internal border checks become measures of very last resort, through a modernised Schengen Borders Code. The Council is ready to start negotiations. It is essential that this House adopts its position also with some urgency.  The pact remains a number one priority for us in the Commission and, indeed, I think that is shared by the Council and this House: we are all fully committed. To finalise the negotiations before the end of this mandate, I think is a priority and we are talking about February 2024. I would add that the Commission stands ready to support all your efforts, and we count on you, as well as the Swedish and Spanish Presidency, to meet the challenge.  In parallel to the negotiations on the pact, we need to address the challenges that we are confronted with today. We have the power to act and we have put on the table important operational measures. We now need to implement them.  The European Council last week had an open and frank discussion on the challenges and the measures to be prioritised in the short term. We all agree that external borders must be managed better. External borders are not just national, but they are European borders. We must strengthen them and prevent irregular migration. We are ready to increase the presence of Frontex, for example, in the Western Balkans, through agreements with our partners.  We are going to develop pilot schemes showcasing good practices on border procedures, acting as a precursor to the new pact. The objective is to support Member States in taking quick decisions so that persons who are in need of protection get their status recognised quickly, while returning those not in need of protection. The Commission will provide operational, technical and financial support.  We will discuss with interested Member States and expect to start one or more pilots in the first half of this year. We must focus on further enhancing the functioning of our external borders by fully implementing the advanced external border management that we have all already agreed on. In particular, when it comes to the IT architecture on the European external borders, we need to choose our priorities in terms of funding.  Member States are best positioned to define how they protect their borders, but they must abide by the EU law and respect fundamental rights. We also need to do better on returns and have a common European approach for faster and dignified returns. The European Council calls on Member States to apply the mutual recognition of returns decisions. A return decision taken by one Member State must be valid in all Member States.  As of next month, the Schengen Information System enters into operation and it will be a key tool for this purpose. We welcome that leaders support the need for making full use of the safe country concept, aiming in the future at common European lists. Secondary movements are a legitimate concern in some Member States. We must address this issue and reduce the incentives for such movement.  We will work with Member States to ensure that they fully implement the Dublin roadmap and at the same time better implement the voluntary solidarity mechanism while waiting for a permanent mechanism through the pact.  Finally, we will not manage migration properly without increased partnership with the countries of origin and transit. We need a win—win cooperation on migration that covers all aspects of our relationship, cooperation to fight smuggling, enhancing returns and readmission of irregular migrants, but also working together on ambitious legal pathways to set up talent partnerships, boosting international mobility and the development of skills in a mutually beneficial way.  In the central Mediterranean, we are ready to strengthen border management and search and rescue capacities in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, working in close cooperation with the UNHCR and the IOM. For such a multidimensional phenomenon, we need a whole of government approach and a single voice to speak for the EU.  The Commission will continue to support putting these operational key actions into practice and to support the co-legislators’ work on the swift negotiations on the pact. I now look forward to your interventions.