Video: https://youtu.be/Au5lR2pVQMg
Dear all,
Today is the first JHA Council after summer, and it’s an important one, for both migration and security.
On migration, the time has come to move away from operating in a crisis mode. We have achieved a lot, and we now must build on this. We have to move from uncontrolled to controlled migration, from irregular to regular, in a structural way.
In order to stem the irregular flows to Europe, we have 3 main priorities: – continuing our efforts in and around Libya, – stepping up returns, – and enhancing legal channels, both for protection and legal migration more generally.
1) First of all, we need to continue our work in and around Libya. All Member States should deliver on their commitments under the EU Africa Trust Fund. We also need to redouble our efforts to provide assistance to the migrants stranded in Libya and that are exposed to unacceptable treatments and human rights violations. Those who need protection should receive it, and those who wish and can return to their home countries should be assisted too. At the same time, we have to continue strengthening the Libyan capacity to manage the borders of their country and work in parallel for the further stabilisation of the country.
2) Secondly, we have to step up all our efforts for more effective returns. These efforts should be taken both outside but also inside the European Union. I have called on Member States and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency to fully apply its new mandate on return. Member States should also use the flexibility offered by the Return Directive, and make sure more generally that return decisions are effectively enforced. At the same time, we need to continue engaging with key origin countries for a better cooperation on return and readmission. We must act in a coordinated, coherent and joint way. This means that we should be prepared to use not only sticks – or negative leverages such as a stricter visa policy – but also continue to work on prevention.
3) This brings me to the third point of enhancing legal channels. We have to replace irregular migration flows with regular flows. There are people in need of protection not just in the Middle East but also in Africa. As President Juncker said yesterday, the Commission supports UNHCR’s call to resettle a further 40,000 refugees from Libya and the surrounding countries. I have already written to all ministers about this, and have encouraged them today to deliver on this. To continue the progress made on resettlement already since 2015, we have made available additional funding. At the same, I have also encouraged ministers today to work on opening up legal pathways for other purposes. Europe is an ageing continent: we need to acknowledge that legal migration will become a necessity for our economies and our societies overall.
Finally, I want to say a word on relocation. The European Court of Justice was very clear – and its judgement is not optional. I told ministers that I count on all of them to continue showing solidarity, applying the rules and keeping their promises. In two weeks, I will present proposals on how to take EU migration management to the next level. In parallel, It is now urgent that ministers seriously work towards completing the reform of the European Common Asylum system.
On countering terrorism, the recent terrorist attacks over summer in Barcelona and Turku show that the threat is not abating and that we must have both a long-term approach while continue to carry out immediate actions.
It is only with trust and ever-closer cooperation that we will defeat it. It is only by pulling together that we can protect our citizens.Information is the essence of everything: having it, but also sharing it.
This is why we definitely need a European intelligence unit, which would ensure that data concerning terrorists and foreign fighters are automatically shared among intelligence services and with the police.
In October I will present a package of practical measures to fight terrorism now and in the long run, and this idea will be part of it.
The EU-Canada PNR agreement PNR agreement is crucial for our security. We will soon come forward with a proposal to reopen negotiations with Canada, in order to address fully the ECJ’s concerns on data protection safeguards.
Right now we must focus on: – fighting radicalisation, especially on the internet, – stepping up the exchange of information and interoperability, – improving the protection of public spaces and our citizens – and cutting the access of terrorists to materials they need to commit attacks.
Next week, I will present our work on the Internet Forum and our fight to counter terrorism online at the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York, with Prime Minister Theresa May, President Macron, Prime Minister Gentiloni and many others.
I will call for the pioneering work we are doing here in Europe, in partnership with the industry, to be taken up at global level by the UN, key countries at regional level, and wider industry participation.
To conclude: we have made enormous progress on migration management and improving security. We have built stable foundations that now require us to take the work to the next level, collectively.
Thank you.