EU Migration Chief to Urge U.S. to Maintain Ties
BRUSSELS—The European Union’s top official for security and migration will urge the U.S. to maintain its decadeslong relationship with the bloc amid criticism of President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily blocking entry of people from seven nations.
Dimitris Avramopoulos, commissioner for migration and home affairs, is scheduled to meet with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Wednesday, in the first meeting between a senior EU official and the Trump administration. His visit comes after Mr. Trump’s recent measure suspending immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations has caused concern within the bloc. The U.S. said the move was needed to keep terrorists from entering the country.
“The roots of the EU-U. S. partnership are deep and go back in history, shaped by shared values and common priorities for the present and the future. The threats we face are common—so should be our responses,” Mr. Avramopoulos wrote in response to emailed questions Tuesday.
President Donald Trump has in recent weeks called the EU a vehicle for German interests and suggested that his administration would prefer to deal with European countries bilaterally.
Regarding Mr. Trump’s executive order on travel, Mr. Avramopoulos said “it is crucial not to equate refugees and migrants with terrorists” and that the vast majority of people “fleeing to European shores are precisely running away from violence and terror in their countries.”
“Both the EU and U.S. want to know better who arrives on our soil, before or when they cross our external borders. Our openness and tolerance should never come at the expense of our security,” Mr. Avramopoulos wrote.
He said that since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the U.S., “U.S. experts have contributed to” the development of EU systems for monitoring travel with the bloc. “I want this close cooperation to continue and deepen,” Mr. Avramopoulos said.
Mr. Avramopoulos said he would discuss with Mr. Kelly how “to move forward and address any outstanding concerns to achieve full visa waiver reciprocity for the citizens of all EU member states.”
Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Cyprus aren’t included in the U.S. Visa Waiver program, mainly owing to a high rejection rate of visa applications and to people overstaying their visa.
Trump, Security, Refugees: Q&A With Migration Commissioner Avramopoulos
European home affairs and migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos is making the case for the European Union with the new Trump administration, which has expressed skeptic views about the bloc. On his way to Washington where he is due to meet U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, Mr. Avramopoulos will be the first senior EU official to meet face-to-face with the new U.S. administration. Below are the written replies to questions sent by The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal: You will be the first EU official to meet with the new U.S. administration. What is the message from Brussels, why should the Trump administration engage with the EU rather than European capitals bilaterally?
Dimitris Avramopoulos: All the global challenges that we face today – terrorism, migration, climate change, trade – are transnational. Now is not the time to disperse our energy and focus, but to unite it. The strength of the EU is to be in a position to tackle all these challenges together. We will engage with our international partners as one. The EU Heads of State were clear on this last week in Malta.
WSJ: What do you hope to achieve from your meeting with Mr. Kelly – or at least, what would be essential for the EU not to lose in its relationship with the U.S. administration?
D.A.: The EU and the U.S. are historic partners and we must build on that. Security and migration are at the top of the European and the transatlantic agendas, where responsibilities, commitments and principles should be respected. I am in the U.S. to reaffirm the bonds of a historic partnership with the new U.S. administration and agree on a common agenda for the way forward. We want to protect our citizens while keeping the borders open for bona fide travelers. The roots of the EU-U.S. partnership are deep and go back in history, shaped by shared values and common priorities for the present and the future. The threats we face are common – so should be our responses.
WSJ: On security and counter-terrorism, why should the U.S. government deal with the EU as a bloc, when the powers are mostly at national level?
D.A.: Terrorism knows no borders, and what is most essential in the fight against terrorism is information sharing and trust. This is precisely why the EU is rapidly working towards a genuine and effective Security Union, where the internal security of one Member State is the internal security of all. With strong, modern borders that empower mobility but keep out those that want to do us harm. Whether it is Germany, France or Belgium – our fight against terrorism in the EU is common. This logic extends also to our cooperation with the U.S. Together we are all stronger in the fight against a common threat.
WSJ: As commissioner for migration and given Europe’s experience with some terrorists having mingled with the stream of migrants in 2015, what is your message to the Trump administration? Are there any concrete forms of cooperation in the area of border security – since this seems to be a priority for both the EU and the U.S.?
D.A.: The EU and U.S. contexts are different, politically but also geographically. The U.S. does not have violent conflicts in its immediate neighbourhood, which are at the source of the refugee and migratory flows that arrived in the EU in 2015 and 2016. It is also crucial not to equate refugees and migrants with terrorists: the vast majority of people fleeing to European shores are precisely running away from violence and terror in their countries.
But both the EU and U.S. want to know better who arrives on our soil, before or when they cross our external borders. Our openness and tolerance should never come at the expense of our security – and vice versa. With our European Border and Coast Guard, our plans for an Entry-Exit system, the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), systematic checks on all citizens crossing our external border and an EU PNR system – we are strengthening our external border management to keep threats out. We are also improving the interconnection of our information systems. Many of our initiatives found inspiration in actions the U.S. took to better defend itself against terror after September 11. U.S. experts have contributed to the development of our systems. I will discuss with DHS Secretary Kelly how the U.S. and EU can learn from each other when it comes to making our borders smarter and more secure. I want this close cooperation to continue and deepen.
WSJ: On the Visa Waiver program, will you still push to have all EU countries included in the program? What are your arguments for the Trump administration to treat the EU as a bloc rather than evaluate each country bilaterally?
D.A.: Visa free travel between the EU and U.S. is about people to people contact, building on a historical and cultural bridge of permanent communication that has been established centuries ago and that will continue for the future. Our visa policy in the EU is common, and it works on the basis of reciprocity: I will discuss this with DHS Secretary Kelly in order to move forward and address any outstanding concerns to achieve full visa waiver reciprocity for the citizens of all EU Member States.
WSJ: Do you see a possible area of convergence with the Trump administration when it comes to defense spending – are there any discussions at EU level to exempt defense spending from the budget deficit rules, to incentivize countries to spend more?
D.A.: EU and U.S. cooperation on defense is built on strong pillars, going back decades and centuries. At a moment of increasing global security challenges, both the EU and U.S. want to strengthen their defense policies. This is why the EU has proposed to establish European Defense Fund to support investment in both joint research and the joint development of defense equipment and technologies, i.e. the actual defense capability of Member States. We want to help Member States pool their financial efforts on defense, and thereby reduce their costs by making sure that national contributions under the capability window of the European Defense Fund are discounted from the structural fiscal effort expected to be accomplished by Member States.
WSJ: Mr. Trump recently signed an executive order that excludes individuals who are not U.S. citizens from the protections of the U.S. Privacy Act. How concerned are you about Mr. Trump reversing data protection assurances that were instrumental to securing the Privacy Shield, on which billions of dollars of business rest? Is this something you will bring up?
D.A.: We are aware of the executive order on public safety. However, the U.S. Privacy Act as such has never offered data protection rights to Europeans. This is why we have negotiated two additional instruments to ensure that EU citizens’ data is duly protected when transferred to the U.S.: namely the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield (which does not rely on the protections under the U.S. Privacy Act) and the EU-U.S. Umbrella Agreement. To finalise this agreement, the U.S. Congress adopted a new law last year (the U.S. Judicial Redress Act) which extends the benefits of the U.S. Privacy Act to Europeans and gives them access to U.S. courts. Our understanding is that President Trump’s executive order does not affect this and the Commission has asked the U.S. administration to confirm this. The Commission, and in particular my colleague Vera Jourova, will continue to monitor the implementation of both instruments and we are following closely any changes in the U.S. that might have an effect on European’s data protection rights.