Von der Leyen assures EU leaders external dimension of migration key priority next term

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, seeking a second term at the helm, has told EU leaders she is ready to boost the external dimension of the EU’s migration policy by considering outsourcing procedures and developing economic partnerships with neighbouring countries, according to a letter seen by Euractiv.  

On the eve of the EU leaders meeting in Brussels, von der Leyen, the frontrunner to lead the EU executive, sent a letter dated 25 June to EU countries promising she is taking migration seriously. 

Management of migration flows – especially irregular – is a key topic for national governments. EU leaders are to adopt a new strategic agenda for the next five years, where migration tops the priorities, according to a document seen by Euractiv, which should be adopted at the summit. 

It is also an extremely divisive issue, as governments have different approaches to which measures to implement.

The EU 27 adopted a brand new Asylum and Migration Pact this spring and then quickly started looking for additional steps to ‘externalise migration’. 

“Alone, (the Pact) will not guarantee our success (…) the external dimension of our work on migration is a key factor for the success of the Pact as a whole,” von der Leyen said in the letter, agreeing with them. 

A series of letters sent by EU countries in recent months asked the Commission to take steps towards boosting cooperation with third countries to curb irregular migration, the so-called “external dimension” of the bloc’s migration policy. 

In May 2024, 15 EU countries asked the Commission to develop EU mechanisms “which would be aimed at detecting, intercepting, or in cases of distress, rescuing migrants on the high seas and bringing them to a predetermined place of safety in a partner country outside the EU,” echoing the controversial Italy-Albania deal.

In her letter, von der Leyen seems to vow to take those demands into account in the next term, without explicitly naming them. 

“Many member states are looking at innovative strategies to prevent irregular migration by tackling asylum applications further from the EU external border,” she acknowledged.

“There are ongoing reflections on ideas which will certainly deserve our attention when our next institutional cycle is under way,” she added, specifying that the EU will always work closely with UNHCR and “heeding international law.” 

But outsourcing procedures is not to everyone’s liking.  

Spain’s minister of interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, recently told Euractiv that “we do not see that [outsourcing procedures] as the most reasonable option,” describing it as a “reactive” measure and calling instead for long-term, “preventive” methods to curb migration by “collaborating in the development of countries of origin and transit.” 

In her letter, Von der Leyen stressed she would keep working on partnerships with neighbouring countries to cooperate in a wide range of policy areas, and mentioned as a key example the investment of France, Spain and Germany in Mauritania’s green hydrogen economy under Global Gateway, an EU strategy to boost its global influence.  

“The comprehensive partnerships can only work if migration is standing alongside a range of shared interests that include security, economic development, energy and trade,” she added.” 

Recently, the EU has concluded agreements with Tunisia, Mauritania, and Egypt involving large sums of money, after another controversial deal with Libya, in a bid to reduce migration flows. 

Instrumentalised migration 

Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, and Poland sent a letter to the Commission this month asking to widen possibilities for member states to “temporarily derogate from EU law based on national security”.

The letter included a proposition to further develop EU legislation to counter the instrumentalisation of migrants by Russia at EU’s eastern borders.  

Addressing these countries’ demands, von der Leyen argued that “member states need to be able to counter these types of activities [instrumentalisation of migration] effectively and guarantee the stability and security of our Union.”

“We will therefore need to continue reflecting on strengthening the EU’s legal framework to provide for an appropriate response not only from a migration but also from a security perspective in line with the Treaties,” she added. 

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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