European Council
The President
Brussels, 27 June 2018
Dear colleagues,
As we approach the June European Council, the debate on migration is becoming increasingly
heated, and it is set to be the main point on the agenda. To better prepare our work, let me share
with you some reflections and my intentions for the summit.
After the migration crisis in 2015, it became clear that the situation had to change, which is why we
agreed to focus all our efforts on stemming illegal migration to Europe. That meant ensuring full
control of the EU’s external borders.
A number of measures were put in place to achieve this
objective. As a result, illegal border crossings into the EU have been brought down by 96% from
their peak in October 2015, which proves that we must continue these measures. However, to fully
control the external borders, we also need to be ready to make additional efforts. I will therefore
propose that the European Council endorse the following:
1. Setting up regional disembarkation platforms outside Europe, if possible together with the
UNHCR and IOM, in order to change the functioning of Search And Rescue Operations.
Our objective should be to break the business model of the smugglers, as this is the most
effective way to stop the flows and bring an end to the tragic loss of lives at sea.
2. Creating in the next multiannual EU budget a DEDICATED financial facility geared towards
combatting illegal migration. We need a flexible budgetary tool managed by those
responsible for migration, as only they are capable of ensuring effective cooperation with
the countries of origin and transit on stemming the flows.
3. Stepping up our cooperation with countries of origin and transit, and in particular our
support for the Libyan Coastguard, so that they have all the necessary resources to fully
control Libyan territorial waters.
A precondition for a genuine EU migration policy is that Europeans effectively decide who enters
European territory. Failure to achieve this goal would in fact be a manifestation of our weakness,
and above all, it could create the impression that Europe does not have an external border. The
people of Europe expect us
–
and they have done for a long time now
–
to show determination in
our actions aimed at restoring their sense of security. People want this not because they have, all
of a sudden, become xenophobic and want to put up walls against the rest of the world, but
because it is the job of every political authority to enforce the law, to protect its territory and the
border. That was, after all, the purpose of creating border guards
–
to guard borders.
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