The veto of Poland and Hungary forced the chapter on migration to be excluded from the Grenada Declaration, signed this Friday, October 6, by all member states of the community bloc. The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, decided to publish an independent text on migration that, he said, has “broad support” among European capitals. The Twenty-Seven showed unity on other issues, such as the willingness to boost the EU’s industrial and commercial influence on a global scale or support for Ukraine in the war against Russia.
The European Union has not yet reached a common agreement on how to handle the humanitarian crisis of migration, which has intensified in recent years.
On Friday, at the end of the Summit of the bloc’s leaders, in Granada, Spain, Hungary and Poland opposed the conclusions of the original text that included a chapter on migration. Although they did approve a Statement joint with the commitment to boost the bloc’s role in areas such as industry, technology and trade, as well as to maintain its support for Ukraine.
The countries agree with the importance and need to strengthen border control, as well as cooperation with countries of origin and transit to reduce irregular departures. However, the distribution of migrants arriving in European territory was the biggest point of disagreement.
Poland and Hungary reject shared responsibility
The far-right governments of Poland and Hungary oppose shared responsibility for the situation of migrants arriving in other member states, especially southern countries.
The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who has expressed his “tough line” on migration to Europe, appeared upset at the Summit over an agreement reached between the bloc’s ministers last Wednesday regarding the European Migration Pact. and Asylum, despite the fact that Hungary and Poland voted against.
“Brussels legally violated Poland and Hungary by imposing the Migration Pact. Therefore, there will be no commitment on migration. Neither today nor in the coming years,” Orbán said.
Brussels legally raped Poland and Hungary by forcing through the #MigrationPact . So there will be no compromise on migration. Not today, and not in the coming years. We will defend our borders from migrants and from the Brussels bureaucrats as well! pic.twitter.com/YRR5IJfQKR
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) October 6, 2023
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also criticized the agreement and explained that his opposition is mainly for security reasons. “Poland is and will remain safe under the Government,” he said.
Jestem premierem Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Odpowiadam za bezpieczeństwo Polski i jej obywateli.
Dlatego jako odpowiedzialny polityk oficjalnie ODRZUCAM cały paragraf konkluzji szczytu dotyczący migracji.
Polska jest i pozostanie bezpieczna pod rządami @pisorgpl!🛡🇵🇱🛡…
— Mateusz Morawiecki (@MorawieckiM) October 6, 2023
In recent months, both countries have criticized the fact that decisions on migration in the EU are made by qualified majority and not by unanimity.
Support for the migration policies proposed by the EU
In the absence of a chapter on migration in the Grenada Declaration, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, decided to present a separate declaration regarding that matter. “It is a European challenge that requires a European response,” said the politician.
In the text, he explained that irregular migration “needs to be addressed immediately, decisively.” Furthermore, he was clear in pointing out that they will not allow “smugglers to decide who enters the EU. “We will continue to implement all our decisions effectively and quickly.”
For her part, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that regular migration is sought and not that people “risk their lives and lose their fortune or their financial means.”
He trusts that the Migration Pact will be approved, which will first have to go through negotiations in the European Parliament, before its entry into force.
Migration to the European Union increased this year. According to the International Organization for Migration, from January to October, some 194,000 migrants and refugees arrived in Spain, Italy, Malta, Greece and Cyprus by boat, compared to 112,000 in the same period in 2022.
Promote the EU as an industrial, technological and commercial reference
Despite the impasse on the migration issue, the Twenty-Seven did show a united front regarding the role they expect the bloc to play globally in the coming years.
In this sense, they committed to strengthening the position of the European Union as an industrial, technological and commercial engine “by placing a special focus on areas of high added value where we already have a competitive position or in which we can become at the forefront.” , indicates the joint text.
Charles Michel also highlighted the need for a “strategic agenda” to be agreed in the coming months, prior to the elections to the European Parliament in June next year, in which objectives are formulated on issues such as the energy transition. The leaders also highlighted that the bloc had managed to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels despite the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Grenada Declaration in support of Ukraine
“We will continue to support Ukraine and the Ukrainian people for as long as necessary,” says the Declaration signed by the twenty-seven European leaders.
The day before, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked for unity and help from the European Union, within the framework of the summit of the European Political Community. The president also met with Pedro Sánchez, the acting president of Spain, with whom he discussed the new military aid package.
I had a fruitful meeting with @sanchezcastejon.
We discussed the new military aid package that includes additional air defense capabilities, artillery, and anti-drone systems.
We are getting ready to open Ukraine’s EU accession talks during the Spanish EU Presidency. Yo soy…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023
In the Statement The future enlargement of the European Union is also mentioned. “Aspiring members should intensify their reform efforts, especially in the area of the rule of law, in line with the nature of the merit-based accession process,” the approved text says.
The countries that aspire to join the bloc are Albania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Ukraine. The latter expected a quick timetable for its accession, but it will have to overcome the extensive process, like the rest of the countries.
For the Prime Minister of Hungary, the inclusion of kyiv is complex. “We have never made an extension to a country that is at war. And we do not know where the effective borders are, nor how many people live there,” he highlighted.
Missed opportunity to reduce tensions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, canceled his scheduled meeting in Grenada with the Armenian Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinián, in the midst of a tense relationship, after the victory of the Azerbaijani Government in the enclave of Nagorno Karabakh. A lightning operation that caused the departure of more than 100,000 inhabitants from the territory previously occupied by Armenians in the self-proclaimed republic of Artsakh.
In parallel to the political Summit, the president of the European Council, Charles Michel; the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz; and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, were going to be the mediators of the conflict, but the meeting never took place.
The one that did was the meeting between Pashinián and the president of Ukraine, the first between both politicians. “Ukraine is interested in the stability of the region and in friendly relations with its countries,” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram account. “We also talked about bilateral cooperation and interregional economic projects,” added the Ukrainian head of state, who this Thursday spoke by phone with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Alíev, to convey his support for “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States.” .
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