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More needs to be done on returns, EU migration commissioner says
EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner has just been speaking in Warsaw.
The Austrian said that while the EU has changed its migration and asylum policy last year, there is still more to be done on returns.
“Nobody understands why people [who] are not allowed to, cannot stay in the European Union are not going to be returned, and that is why are are working on new, tigher rules also on returns,” he said.
Asked specifically about the German motion passed last night, he said the EU needed to have a look at what was actually in the proposal.
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We don't want internal border controls, Luxembourg's minister says
There is a theme emerging in responses to questions on Germany.
Luxembourg’s home minister Léon Gloden:
We do not want to have controls on the internal borders [of the EU]. We have 250,000 commuters coming to work in Luxembourg from Germany, France, and Belgium, so [restoring] border controls on internal borders is not the right solution for our country.
“Schengen is one of the most important achievements of the EU,” he says.
Directly asked about Merz’s proposals, he says: “I am not commenting on German domestic policy.”
But pushed further he seems to suggests that if Germany requests an extension of border controls with Luxembourg, it would respond by lodging an objection with the European Commission.
Bundestag motion ‘irresponsible, oblivious to history,’ German minister says
German interior minister Nancy Faeser opened her statement with a targeted dig at the opposition parties which backed the migration motion last night, insisting Germany “will not jeopardise this joint European action through dangerous national solo efforts.”
Echoing chancellor Scholz’s comments from yesterday, she pointedly said she had to act in accordance with German constitution and EU law.
“I want to make it clear because the debates in Germany are causing irritation among our European neighbours these days,” she said.
Asked specifically about the events in the Bundestag yesterday, she goes further: “What happened yesterday was irresponsible and oblivious to history.”
She also defended EU Schengen arrangements, but argued some border controls were necessary “until we have better and more secure external border protection.”
Inter-EU border controls should be 'exceptional,' Spanish minister says
Uh-oh, Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez is not happy with the German proposals, which include calls for restoring border controls:
It is quite important for us to strenghten our external borders, but we think that the internal control must be [allowed only in] exceptional [circumstances]. Free movement inside the EU is for us one of the most important values we have.
We have to strenghten our cooperation on [protecting] the external borders ... [but] internal border controls must be the last resort.
Asked what will the EU do if Germany goes ahead with its proposals, he says:
I think it is not going to be possible. I would like to think so.
More needs to be done on returns, EU migration commissioner says
EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner has just been speaking in Warsaw.
The Austrian said that while the EU has changed its migration and asylum policy last year, there is still more to be done on returns.
“Nobody understands why people [who] are not allowed to, cannot stay in the European Union are not going to be returned, and that is why are are working on new, tigher rules also on returns,” he said.
Asked specifically about the German motion passed last night, he said the EU needed to have a look at what was actually in the proposal.
Morning opening: What’s next for EU migration and asylum policy?
Jakub Krupa
A day after Germany’s conservative opposition, relying on the votes of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, pushed through a motion calling for a radical overhaul of the country’s migration and asylum policy, EU justice and home affairs ministers meet in Warsaw to discuss… migration.
Critics say the German proposals, proposed by the CDU/CSU which is leading in the polls ahead of next month’s general election and could soon find itself in power in Berlin, could breach EU laws.
Current chancellor Olaf Scholz warned yesterday that his government “pushed the boundaries” of what is possible but insisted that “we cannot and must not go beyond the law,” or Germany’s reputation as a law-abiding ally would be at risk.
However, most Germans seem to disagree as over 60% back the controversial proposals - including a majority of those Scholz’s voters.
In this context, EU justice and home affairs ministers gather in Warsaw this morning for an “informal meeting” to discuss migration management, among other things. Hope they have some good ideas.
Ministers will start arriving any moment now, and we will bring you their comments on arrival (if they say something interesting, that is).
But there is a lot going on elsewhere in Europe, too: in stark contrast to yesterday’s event, the Bundestag will be discussing whether to ban AfD, Nordic defence ministers are meeting in Helsinki, and we have lots of update on France, Serbia, Slovakia, Denmark, Greenland, and Ukraine, among others.
It’s Thursday, 30 January 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
