Europaudvalget 2021-22
EUU Alm.del Bilag 462
Offentligt
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Concept Note
Interparliamentary Conference on Migration Challenges
Paris, May 16
th
2022
Session 2
‘What measures can we take to control our external borders?’
 EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 462: Invitation til interparlamentarisk møde om migration 15-16/5-22
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Session 2
‘What measures can we take to control our
external borders?’
Establishing an ambitious common migration policy necessarily
entails control over the European Union’s external borders.
Shortcomings
in border control lead to chain reactions: a decline in legal immigrant intake and
integration capacities, a damage risk to the integrity of the European area of
free movement, and greater exposure of European citizens to cross-border
crime.
Member States’ inadequate control of the EU’s external borders is
a long-
standing and well-documented fact.
The 2015 crisis revealed the extent of this vulnerability.
That year saw
the worsening of the conflict in Syria, and Frontex numbered over 1.8 million
illegal crossings of the EU’s borders. The intake systems of the main first host
countries were quickly overwhelmed, and it must be acknowledged that the
European Union did not live up to the challenge. The inadequacy of the
Dublin III Regulation in the face of high-tension migratory situations, Frontex’s
limited mandate, and deep political differences all played a role in the EU’s
inability to provide a coordinated response to the sudden influx of migrants.
These structural weaknesses fuelled lasting mistrust between Member
States,
as shown by the temporary reinstatement of internal border controls.
While the situation was stabilised
through a transit agreement with
Turkey, the structural inadequacies in our external border control have not been
overcome, and migratory pressure remains high.
In 2020 for example, Frontex counted 125,226 illegal EU border crossings,
down slightly from 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and 370,174 people
present in Europe illegally. Furthermore, the return policy is not very effective
since a mere 30% of return orders issued by Member States are executed on
average.
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 EUU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 462: Invitation til interparlamentarisk møde om migration 15-16/5-22
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The first steps have been taken towards better control of our external
borders. This includes the decision to transform Frontex from a support
and coordination agency into a true field player.
The addition of a
permanent contingent of 10,000 European border agents by 2027 and a
doubling of the agency’s budget to €900 million are strong signals in this regard.
Furthermore, the “New Pact on Migration and Asylum” presented by
the European Commission in September 2020 proposes a significant
boost to external border control mechanisms:
the introduction of a
‘screening’ mechanism of third-country nationals that do not fulfil entry criteria,
the implementation of an asylum procedure at the border, and the overhaul of
the Eurodac database.
Special attention is also being paid to the effectiveness of return policies, for
example the proposal to appoint a European return coordinator. Finally, the
proposal insists on
the need for greater cooperation on migration with
countries of origin and transit through ‘comprehensive, balanced and
tailor-made’ partnerships.
The challenge now lies in building a consensus between European partners
on the various aspects of the pact to fulfil the shared ambition of greater control
over our external borders.
In this context, several questions will be debated during this session: what
measures should we take to finally exercise better control over our external
borders? How can we balance the need to protect our borders and protect the
fundamental rights of immigrants in general, and asylum seekers in particular?
How can we lay down the conditions for partnerships of trust with countries of
origin and transit? How can we foster sustainable economic development for
the countries of origin of migrants who think they can find better living conditions
in the European Union?
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