Summary of the day
European justice and home affairs ministers met in Brussels amid growing pressure for the bloc to agree on a new migration and asylum pact.
The German government shifted its position on a long-disputed migration crisis regulation, with the German interior minister, Nancy Faesser, saying she expected a breakthrough.
Italy, however, appeared to block a deal.
Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said after the ministers’ session that there was a very broad majority of member states in favour of a compromise but that some details still needed to be fine-tuned and that he hoped an agreement could be announced in the coming days.
Margaritis Schinas, a vice-president of the European Commission, cautioned: “We need to deprive the demagogues and populists from the argument that Europe cannot sort out our migration problem.”
The International Rescue Committee warned that new migration rules could set policy on the wrong track.
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EU ministers failed to reach an agreement today on new migration rules but are still expected to finalise a compromise in the coming days.
Ministers said they expected that “fine tuning” would lead to a deal on new rules that would apply in the event of a sudden refugee crisis such as that in 2015 when more than 1 million people arrived from Syria and beyond.
The interior ministers’ discussion comes amid a surge in irregular migration from Tunisia to Italy but also increases to the Greek islands Samos and Lesbos, the EU said.
“So far this year, we have received more than 250,000 irregular arrivals to the EU. The main increase is towards Italy and mainly Lampedusa which is really under pressure,” said Ylva Johansson, the European commissioner for home affairs.
But she added that the EU had at the same time a backlog of 600,000 asylum applications.
“That shows our challenge is much bigger than the prevention of irregular arrivals,” she said.
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Greece and Turkey seal mini migration pact
While EU member states failed to finalise a migration deal in Brussels today, on the bloc’s external borders Greece and Turkey have reportedly agreed to a groundbreaking, if unofficial, migration pact.
In unexpected news, the Greek minister of migration and asylum, Dimitris Kairidis, struck an accord with his Turkish counterpart, Ali Yerlikaya, to halt illegal flows of people across the land border the two countries share.
The agreement, which has already seen Turkish security authorities stopping Europe-bound asylum seekers crossing the frontier, was reached on what Greek media reports have suggested is a WhatsApp “hotline” between the two men.
According to the Greek daily Ethnos, Yerlikaya confirmed the existence of the hotline this week, describing his collaboration with Kairidis as “strong”.
Greek and Turkish coastguards, he said, were also in talks to come up with a corresponding accord that would stem flows across the Aegean Sea.
“We believe that when the land borders are sealed, then refugees and migrants turn to the sea and so we’ll improve our cooperation there as well,” he was quoted as saying.
In what would amount to an about-turn in Turkey’s approach to migration, Yerlikaya said he was also in talks with his Bulgarian counterpart who, like Kairidis, is due to visit Turkey next month.
Greek officials still have vivid memories of thousands of would-be asylum seekers who, goaded by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, attempted to breach the land frontier in March 2020.
The crisis erupted after the Turkish government announced it was opening border crossings to Europe-bound refugees and migrants in response to the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers in an air raid in the Syrian province of Idlib.
It prompted Athens not only to reinforce the frontier with extra border guards and police but pledge to extend a steel wall to obstruct arrivals – a promise it has since enacted under what its centre-right government has called its “tough but fair” migration policy.
Attending today’s meetings in Brussels, Kairidis said that – whether wittingly or not – Turkey had become the largest generator of irregular migration in the Mediterranean.
It was, he said, vital that the EU updated the 2016 treaty it had drawn up with Ankara in the wake of Europe’s migration crisis when up to a million Syrians entered the bloc – often traversing Greece’s Aegean islands to do so – to stop the illegal flows.
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'EU desperately needs a plan,' parliamentarian says amid delays on migration rules
Elena Yoncheva, a Bulgarian socialist member of the European parliament who chairs the Asylum Contact Group, told the Guardian this evening that she hoped a deal on the migration crisis rules was in sight.
“We hear about some positive developments in the Council and I hope a deal is within reach,” she said in a text message.
“The EU desperately needs a plan how to deal with crisis situations and what happens on EU shores proves it,” the MEP said, adding: “Lampedusa was only one of the many tragic examples.”
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Ukrainian refugees get more time in EU
EU member states formally agreed today to extend temporary protection for people fleeing from Russia’s war in Ukraine from March 2024 to March 2025.
The Spanish interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said in a statement: “The EU will support the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes.
“The prolongation of the protection status offers certainty to the more than 4 million refugees who have found a safe haven in the EU.”
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Spanish minister hopes for migration deal in coming days
Spain’s acting minister for home affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, told reporters after a meeting of European ministers in Brussels that there was a very broad majority of member states in favour of a compromise on new migration crisis rules.
The minister, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, said that member states were very close to reaching an agreement.
Nevertheless, he said some details still needed to be fine-tuned and that he hoped an agreement could be announced in the coming days, allowing for negotiations to start with the European parliament.
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Senior MEP urges migration pact deal
Nicola Beer, a vice-president of the European parliament from Germany’s Free Democratic party, said in a statement to the Guardian this afternoon that “for far too long, we have witnessed suffering and countless deaths in the Mediterranean, and in same time, communities and citizens are overwhelmed by the high number of irregular migration”.
“Europe urgently needs the asylum and migration pact as soon as possible,” she said.
“Interior ministers must demonstrate their ability to secure our external borders, curb irregular immigration, install speedy asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders and set the framework for more third country agreements and returns,” Beer said, adding: “In parallel, we need to establish a European talent-pool for skilled migration in our labour markets.”
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Italy blocks migration compromise
Hopes that a deal could be sealed on reforms to EU migration laws have faded in Brussels with indications that Italy is blocking a pact over standards in detention centres and the role of NGOs in supporting migrants.
Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi has already left for the airport to return to an event in Palermo, the Sicilian city.
Optimism prevailed this morning when after the German chancellor Olaf Scholz said he would now back the proposals which he had objected to previously.
“The government also agrees that it will not be Germany’s fault if the last building block of the entire work is not launched for negotiations,” said Scholz in Berlin during a news conference with the president of Kazakhstan.
However it is understood that Italy now thinks the wording in the text is tilted too far towards Germany’s concerns over human rights.
A press conference will be held in the next few minutes.
Explainer: The EU's migration crisis regulation
Senior European officials are trying to finalise a deal over proposed new migration crisis rules. But what is the new regulation?
In 2020, the European Commission proposed a new migration and asylum pact. As part of the legislative package, the commission suggested a regulation for how European countries would handle migration and asylum claims in crisis situations when there is a mass influx within a short period of time.
Rights groups, along with some European politicians, raised concerns about the plan, saying that it could undermine the rights of asylum seekers and simply give capitals justification to ignore asylum law.
And negotiations among member states had stalled, fuelling significant frustration at the European parliament.
“The Parliament has repeatedly stressed its commitment to a comprehensive reform of European Union’s asylum and migration policy,” Elena Yoncheva, a member of the European Parliament and chair of the Asylum Contact Group, said earlier this month.
“The Crisis Regulation is an essential element of this reform, as it lays down a predictable EU mechanism to support member states facing sudden crisis situations in the field of migration and asylum. Few months away from the end of the current legislature every day counts.”
Now, member states have a complex compromise is on the table which would, in crisis situations, allow European countries to detain people for longer periods, and give governments temporarily exemptions from rules that usually apply to asylum seekers.
A 53-page draft compromise seen by the Guardian aims to appeal to both governments that want more flexibility in times of crisis and those concerned that fundamental rights need to be respected at all times.
Germany has backed a compromise, but efforts are still underway to try to bring Italy on board.
Nevertheless, even if ultimately agreed, the compromise plan would then be subject to negotiations with the European parliament.
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Efforts under way to convince Italy to back migration crisis rules
Over the past hours senior European politicians have spoken with their Italian counterparts in an effort to bring Rome on board with a proposed compromise on new migration crisis rules, a senior EU diplomat said.
EU ambassadors are expected to meet later this afternoon to discuss a proposed compromise, which Germany backed earlier in the day.
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EU should stop ignoring Tunisia’s abuses, NGO says
The European Commission should stop ignoring Tunisia’s human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.
The EU reached a controversial deal with Tunisia’s government over the summer aimed at reducing migrant arrivals in Europe.
Philippe Dam, Human Rights Watch’s EU advocacy director, has called for the EU to “guarantee that Tunisia meets basic human rights benchmarks before sending a single euro-cent to entities with a demonstrated poor human rights record”.
“Not doing so,” he warned, “risks implicating the EU in further fuelling serious abuses and causing immense suffering.”
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Eyes on ambassadors
Senior diplomats from the EU’s member states are now expected to meet later today and discuss a proposed compromise on migration crisis rules.
‘It’s a torment’: refugee tells how his family died in desert on quest for a future in Europe
Pato Crepin had walked for three days through the desert and could not take it any more. Twice, he and his family tried to cross the border from Libya into Tunisia; twice, they had been pushed back. Crepin, who was recovering from an infection and had not had a drink for 24 hours, found he could not get up. In the blistering heat of the mid-July desert, his legs had given up.
His wife and six-year-old daughter, however, seemed stronger. Crepin, an asylum seeker from Cameroon, believed that if they left him behind they might yet make it to Tunisia and, from there, perhaps, on to Europe. He did not want to slow them down. “Go,” he told them. “I’ll catch up with you in Tunisia.”
It was the last time he saw them. A week later, a photo of a woman and a child lying dead face down in the desert at the border went viral worldwide. Crepin could not believe it. He could see it was Fati Dosso, his wife, and Marie, their daughter, but he hoped they were resting.
“But no, they were dead,” he told the Guardian in a telephone interview. “I should have been there in their place.”
On 16 July, the day Crepin, 29, became separated from his family, the European Union signed a €1bn deal with Tunisia’s autocratic president, Kais Saied, to help stem irregular migration.
Read the full story here.
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Hungary criticises compromise migration crisis rules
Hungary’s deputy interior minister told European ministers in Brussels that his country opposes new migration crisis rules because they would “open a newer door, a newer opportunity for even more immigrants to arrive illegally in Europe”.
Bence Rétvári argued that key strategic questions in the EU should be decided via consensus.
He also said proposed rules would be a “magnet” for migrants.
The new migration crisis rules are expected to be agreed with a so-called qualified majority, rather than by unanimous consent.
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New migration rules could set policy on wrong track, NGO cautions
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned today that elements of the EU’s proposed migration and asylum pact “could set EU asylum and migration policy firmly on the wrong track for years to come.”
The organisation “is calling for EU leaders to ensure that the Pact is rooted in responsibility-sharing, with a comprehensive system in place to ensure all member states either relocate new arrivals across the EU from their moment of arrival - or alternatively, contribute support and resources to ensure humane reception,” Harlem Desir, IRC senior vice president for Europe said in a statement.
“When a crisis occurs there needs to be more solidarity, not a lowering of standards,” he said.
“Rather than striking deals with non-EU countries designed to stop people reaching Europe without proper guaranties to respect human rights, the EU must establish truly independent bodies empowered to monitor and prevent human rights violations at borders,” he said, adding that “member states and the European Parliament must also ensure that children and families are excluded from detention.”
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The time is ticking on the EU’s efforts to get a deal on crisis migration, Belgium’s secretary of state for asylum and migration told her EU colleagues in a meeting today.
Belgium is set to take over the EU Council’s rotating presidency in January. The secretary of state, Nicole de Moor, said it has only “40 or 50 days” to get the legislation over the line and urged ministers meeting in Brussels to agree a way forward today on the last key remaining migration proposals, which relate to crisis situations involving sudden surges in irregular migration.
European Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas urged member states to get the text over the line today.
“If this is the case we will finally deprive the demagogues and populists in Europe who are still claiming we are not able to sort out the situation.”
He added EU countries “spend too many years struggling and failing” to agree on migration.
“Now we have the opportunity to do it … and are closer than ever before.”
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Germany backs deal on migration, says there is sufficient support
Speaking at a meeting of European ministers in Brussels, German interior minister Nancy Faeser thanked the Spanish presidency of the Council of the EU for its work on a draft compromise on migration crisis rules and said there is a qualified majority of member states in favour.
A deal could be finalised today, the minister said. Europe needs to act together, Faeser stressed. There is a need to help areas that are overburdened, she said, pointing to Italy and German regions.
There is a need to work to reduce irregular migration and people must apply through proper asylum procedures, the minister said, adding that a mechanism is needed that is both effective and can react to a crisis if necessary. Access to asylum procedures has be guaranteed, she noted.
We need a strong solidarity mechanism and protection for countries around the Mediterranean, and we need to ensure the fundamental rights of applicants are ensured, even in a crisis situation, she added.
Germany wants exemptions for children and it’s a shame there is no broad majority for that, the minister said, adding that her government will keep pushing on the matter.
Germany will vote in favour of the compromise, she said.
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Sweden’s migration minister, Maria Stenergard, is highlighting her government’s support for long-term European cooperation with third countries on migration.
Hopefully we can reach an agreement today on the final part of the Migration and Asylum Pact. It is also of key importance that the EU cooperates comprehensively and long-term with third countries to prevent irregular migration - @MariaStenegard at today’s #JHA Council pic.twitter.com/Fyr4d8vgFz
— Sweden in EU (@SwedeninEU) September 28, 2023
Italian minister says more irregular migrants to be deported
Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said he was confident that deportation numbers would increase after the government approved a new security decree targeting refugee minors who lie about their age.
In a post on social media platform X, Piantedosi said the number of irregular immigrants deported from the country had risen by 20-30% so far this year compared to 2022.
“There is therefore extra commitment and organisation,” he said. “We have four years of work ahead of us and we are confident that the numbers of expulsions will increase.”
The government of the prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, approved a decree on Wednesday saying that foreigners who lie about their age in order to benefit from a protection scheme reserved for unaccompanied minors arriving in Italy will be deported.
The decree gives police powers to estimate the age of asylum seekers using body measurements and X-rays. A similar system of age checks has been used in Milan for several years already, and in 90% of cases it was proven that the immigrants were, in fact, children, La Repubblica reported.
Until now, children arriving in Italy without a parent or legal guardian have been able to benefit from a special protection regime, introduced in 2017, based on the presumption of being a minor.
The decree also includes a measure stipulating that foreigners living legally in Italy will be deported if they are considered to be a threat to public order or national security.
Meloni’s ruling coalition, which came to power last October, is moving to enact more hardline measures amid a surge in the number of people arriving on Italy’s shores who are seeking refuge in Europe.
The Italian prime minister, who before being elected called for a naval blockade in the Mediterranean, admitted last week that she had hoped to “do better” on immigration after the number arriving in Italy so far this year eclipsed 133,000 – more than double the same period last year.
In 2022 there were 3,916 repatriations to 55 countries, including 2,724 people who were forcibly removed on special charter planes, according to figures cited in a report obtained by Reuters last week. The number of deportations is small when compared to the number of people seeking refuge (105,129) who arrived in 2022.
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'We will not contribute to fortress Europe,' parliamentarian says
Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch member of the European parliament from the centrist Renew Europe group, said today that member states need to move ahead with new asylum and migration rules.
“We absolutely need a breakthrough today,” she said as officials race to finalise a deal over proposed migration crisis rules which form part of a broader European migration and asylum pact.
“This is a key file and it will allow us to move on with the whole package – and at least have a chance of getting it across the finish line before the European elections,” she said. “Everybody can see that we have to find solutions now.”
“The member states have been blocking this for the last eight years. It’s irresponsible to continue blocking it,” in ‘t Veld said, adding however that “everything we adopt has to be fully in line with European values.”
“We will not contribute to fortress Europe. We want proper, humane and effective common European policies,” she said.
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Poland opposed to migration crisis rules, ambassador says
Poland’s ambassador to the EU, Andrzej Sadoś, told the Guardian today that Warsaw “is refusing to accept any elements of mandatory relocation, the distribution of some mandatory quotas” and is also opposed “to any obligatory payment for not accepting migrants.”
EU countries, he wrote in response to a question, “should have full discretion in choosing between different type of solidarity measures.”
“In our opinion, the instrument in proposed form does not adequately respond to crisis, force majeure and, above all, the instrumentalisation of migration,” the Polish ambassador said, adding that “the crisis regulation does not ensure the right balance between solidarity and responsibility.”
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Talks continue as ministers seek compromise
Commissioner Ylva Johansson held talks with German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, in Brussels as officials race to seal a compromise on a migration crisis regulation.
Discussions with 🇩🇪 Minister of Interior @NancyFaeser.
— Ylva Johansson (@YlvaJohansson) September 28, 2023
We agree on importance of reaching a final agreement on the crisis proposal, which will bring us one step closer to finalising the Pact.
Thank you Nancy for your pragmatic and constructive approach.#MigrationEU
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Germany moves on migration crisis regulation amid domestic pressure
The German government appears to have given up its blockage of the long-disputed crisis regulation over asylum seekers which forms a key part of the meeting of EU migration ministers in Brussels today.
The bloc is seeking to find agreement on a mechanism to fairly distribute asylum seekers arriving in the bloc outside of regular border posts.
Germany’s interior minister Nancy Faeser has said she now expects a breakthrough.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, also showed optimism, telling the economic weekly Wirtschaftswoche: “We will pass the new common European asylum system legislation which will provide a solidarity mechanism for the intake and distribution of refugees.”
The Green party’s opposition to the core part of the reform had until Wednesday been the cause of the government’s failure to throw its weight behind it. The party’s concern is that in times of crisis protection standards for migrants would be inadequate under the new rules.
But Scholz took the executive decision at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday that the mechanism could no longer be blocked, using the rarely applied Machtwort and exercising his authority as head of government, and thus paving the way for Faeser to head to Brussels in a negotiating capacity rather than in what would likely have been interpreted as an obstructive mode.
Annalena Baerbock, the foreign minister and leading Green, welcomed the development, saying: “finally Brussels can negotiate properly”.
Christian Dürr of the pro-business FDP, part of the coalition, praised Scholz’s “decisive action”, adding that “we now have a unique chance to better manage migration, a chance which we cannot waste”.
There is a sense of urgency over the matter in Germany, with the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees having registered more than 204,000 first-time asylum applicants this year, until the end of August, an increase on 77% in comparison to the same period last year.
This does not include the more than 1 million refugees from Ukraine who have fled to Germany, who are not required to apply for asylum.
The issue is high on the agenda of several looming state and local elections and seen as one of the main reasons for a soar in the far-right populist AfD’s poll ratings.
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Migration reform 'really urgent', Belgian politician says
Nicole De Moor, Belgium’s state secretary for asylum and migration, said ahead of an EU ministers’ session today that “it’s an important day for Europe” and that the situation in many European countries “shows that the reform of Europe’s migration policy and asylum policy is really urgent – but we are on the right way and the right direction.”
The state secretary state said that progress has been made and that she is “confident” ministers can reach an agreement on a new migration crisis mechanism.
“We have to make progress in our relationships with third countries – countries of origin and transit countries – to invest in those countries, in economic opportunities, education, to offer people opportunities in those countries, and in the same time to cooperate with those countries on border management and on return.”
Asked about a controversial EU deal with Tunisia, the Belgian politician said the memorandum of understanding with the country is “an important step” and an “investment” in addressing root causes of migration.
“I think this is really the way we should continue, and make agreements with other countries as well,” she added.
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Ireland hopes for migration deal today, minister says
The Irish justice minister, Helen McEntee, said this morning that she hoped EU countries reach an agreement today on new crisis rules for significant surges in the number of migrants arriving in Europe.
Speaking to reporters before a ministers’ meeting in Brussels today, McEntee said that “this has obviously been a long, ongoing negotiation among member states, it’s so important that we do reach a conclusion before the end of this current session”.
Discussions today on what Europe can do on the root causes of migration is an area which “from Ireland’s point of view, we have been particularly keen to try and address”.
Asked if Ireland will fully participate in the EU’s new migration and asylum pact if it’s agreed, the minister said: “We will participate in whatever way we can, yes.”
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On today’s agenda
Migration will remain one of the hottest topics on the agenda, diplomats have said before a key meeting of EU interior ministers today.
They will get a full briefing from the European Commission on the controversial €167m deal with Tunisia to stem irregular migration from the north African country to Italy.
They are also expected to reach agreement on a new law to create rules in the event of a repeat of the 2015/2016 crisis when more than 1m refugees came to the EU from Syria and beyond.
This follows agreement from Germany on a new text. Along with Ireland and Luxembourg, it had reservations about the rules governing unaccompanied minors.
The ministers will also open a discussion on the question of permanent residence for up to 4 million Ukrainian refugees.
They are likely to agree a commission proposal to extend the existing temporary protection directive to 2025 but ministers are keen to start the discussion for what happens beyond that working on the assumption that many of the 4 million Ukrainian refugees may make the EU their home.
Given Ukraine’s desire to join the EU it may also be a route into a wider discussion about freedom of movement, diplomats say.
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We need to deprive populists from argument that Europe cannot sort migration, senior EU official says
The EU is on the cusp of completing its package of new migration laws after Germany agreed to new rules in the event of a sudden surge in migration from a country in crisis, the commissioner responsible for coordinating the work on the new regime has said.
EU member states have already agreed new rules on asylum procedures and “solidarity” relocation of irregular migrants converging on frontline countries such as Italy, but they are now looking for a legal framework to deal with crises such as 2015/2016 when more than 1m refugees came from Syria and beyond.
“We are very encouraged by the progress made,” said Margaritis Schinas, the commissioner responsible for coordinating the package.
“And we hope that the ministers will agree today one of the on one of the most important remaining aspects of the overall reform, the crisis regulation,” said Schinas, a Greek centre-right politician who is a vice-president of the European Commission.
“If this happens, then we’ll have a window of opportunity to obtain the overall agreement before the European election of next year,” he said, adding: “We need to deprive the demagogues and populists from the argument that Europe cannot sort out our migration problem.”
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Africans tell of being forced into the desert at Tunisia border
Migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have spoken of their horror at being forcibly returned to remote desert regions where some have died of thirst as they attempt to cross the border into Tunisia.
After the European Union agreed to a €1bn (£870m) migration deal with Tunisia, human rights groups are urging Brussels to take a tougher line on allegations that Tunisian authorities have been pushing people back to deserted border areas, often with fatal results.
According to an official from a major intergovernmental organisation, Tunisian authorities relocated more than 4,000 people in July alone to military buffer zones at the borders with Libya and Algeria.
“About 1,200 people were pushed back to the Libyan border in the first week of July alone,” said the source, who was speaking on condition of anonymity. By late August, the source added, their organisation knew of seven people who had died of thirst after being pushed back.
An NGO working with refugees puts the estimate at between 50 and 70. The Guardian could not independently verify the figure.
“In early July, the Tunisian police captured us in Sfax,’’ said Salma, a 28-year-old Nigerian woman. “My two-year-old son and I were taken by some policemen and pushed back into the desert at the Libyan border. My husband was captured by other border guards and I don’t know what happened to him. I haven’t heard from him since then because while they were pushing us back I lost my phone.’’
Read the full story here.
EU ‘making progress’ on new migration crisis rules, commissioner says
The EU’s commissioner for home affairs Ylva Johansson said this morning that “we are making progress” and she is “optimistic” that European government can reach an agreement today on a proposal for crisis rules in cases when Europe experiences a large surge in the number of migrant arrivals.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a ministers’ meeting in Brussels, Johansson pointed out that the crisis regulation is the “last piece” of the EU’s proposed new pact on asylum and migration.
Welcome to the blog
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe live blog, which comes to you today from the EU Council in Brussels, where ministers from across the continent are discussing migration this morning.
Ministers will get an update on a controversial deal between the EU and Tunisia, and there are signals the EU’s member states are close to an agreement on the thorny issue of rules in case of a migration crisis.
The session comes at a time when Italy is stepping up its crackdown on migrants, and after Germany introduced border checks with Poland and the Czech Republic.
Throughout the day we will be delving into the ministers’ debates, as well as all the latest news and analysis on this issue from across the region.
Send your comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
