EU ministers discuss tighter borders and faster migrant returns in Munich
European interior ministers on Saturday discussed tighter border controls, quicker emergency responses and fast-track procedures to return some migrants, as the European Union works to tighten migration management after putting its migration and asylum pact into effect in June.
The meeting in Munich brought together 17 ministers from the EU and Britain at a time when asylum applications in Europe have fallen sharply in recent months and fewer migrants have tried to cross the Mediterranean, though those journeys have become deadlier than last year.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said, "There is a need for a new European migration crisis mechanism," referring to emergency situations involving "waves of illegal border crossings." Referring to an influx of migrants into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, which borders Morocco, and the divisions it caused in Europe, he called for new rules to identify border emergencies, a mechanism to respond to them and a system to fast-track some returns.
Dobrindt also said he hoped Frontex, the European border security and coast guard agency, could be involved in the return process.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner said protecting the bloc's borders was a central part of the reforms and that progress was being made. "Illegal migration has dropped dramatically," Brunner said. "In the last two years, it has gone down by 55 per cent and in the last year once again it dropped by one-third. We as Europeans want to decide who can stay in Europe and those who cannot stay then have to leave. This is what all this is about."
The talks centred on ways to strengthen border management and speed up responses to migration pressures, as European governments review how to handle border emergencies and returns under the bloc's new framework.
