[check against delivery]
Dear Ministers, dear colleagues,
I would like to thank the Finish presidency for this timely discussion about the future of Europe’s migration policy and for selecting so well such important topics.
Let me start answering the question on the interaction between Schengen and the EU asylum and return policy.
From the start, there was a close link between all these issues.
The reason why we developed a common asylum and return policy in the first place, together with jointly managed external borders, is linked to the fact that we wanted to build an area without internal border controls, an area of free movement for our citizens.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, we find ourselves at an important crossroad.
To ensure the proper functioning of Schengen, we need to reach at European level an agreement on stricter rules on external border management, on asylum and return of irregular migrants; an agreement that balances fairly the principle of solidarity and responsibility and to ensure that these rules are enforced.
There is no alternative.
Otherwise, there is a clear risk that both Schengen and the European asylum and return policy collapse altogether.
I am glad that on the protection of the EU external borders, you have supported all our proposals to strengthen the capacities of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency and the implementation of several large scale IT systems in order to better control who comes in and who goes out of the EU.
We need to ensure all these reforms are implemented on time.
But it’s not enough to manage our external borders.
We need to be able to better manage migration flows.
In case of massive irregular arrivals, the countries of first entry should be able to count on EU support and that the responsibility to manage the people will be fairly shared among Member States.
I welcome that yesterday evening a number of Member States expressed their readiness to work on arrangements in case disembarkation take place in Europe.
I call on all of you to contribute to these temporary arrangements.
They should serve as a bridge until the swift completion of the legislative reform of the Common European Asylum System, which remains a priority.
Beyond finding a new balance on sharing responsibility, the reform of the asylum and return policy aims also to prevent abuses and irregular secondary movements that precisely undermine the good functioning of Schengen.
Mapping the remaining open questions on which we still need to work is a good step forward.
But above all, we need political will. We all know that on many files we are very close to an agreement.
Dear colleagues, an effective return policy for irregularly staying persons is also essential.
It is important that the Council quickly finds an agreement on the return border procedure to engage with the new Parliament on the entire proposal.
In conclusion, both the question and the answer about the interaction between Schengen and our asylum and return policy are straightforward.
But it takes political will to make it happen and it also requires the necessary financial resources in the next Multiannual Financial Framework.
On the second question on how to foster readmission cooperation, significant progress has been achieved in the last years in developing closer relationships with partner countries.
We must start with using the 23 existing readmission agreements and arrangements to their full potential.
To this end, we should use all the tools at our disposal to support their implementation, such as networks of liaison officers or the support offered by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency for return operations.
It is also important that all our efforts go in the same direction.
Bilateral efforts of the Member States and the EU’s engagement with third partners have to be mutually reinforcing, including financial support.
More generally, it is important to continue developing balanced partnerships with third countries.
Experience has shown that it is more effective to present the return and readmission elements as part of a comprehensive package approach that would also include measures related to investment, trade and legal migration.
In case a third country would not be cooperative, it will however be important to properly implement the new tool contained in the recently adopted Visa Code.
This should go hand in hand with a significant scaling-up of EU resettlement efforts and continued focus on legal pathways as an integral part of the EU’s migration policy.
For the future, we should explore how we can build in the EU framework, in the medium to long term, other useful links with readmission policy, as already urged by the European Council, to improve the EU’s collective leverage.
In our view, a specific focus on EU-Africa relations is sensible.
It is in our common interest to develop a long-term partnership with Africa, as also underlined in the new Europe-Africa Alliance on sustainable investment and jobs.
Thank you for your attention.