European Union, migration. EU summit – talks on illegal immigration. Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark are concerned

‘Last year we saw large increases in the number of migrants arriving in Europe,’ said the President of the European Council Charles Michel at the end of the first day of the EU summit.

– We had a very good, honest and fruitful discussion on this topic. We must find a European answer to this problem. We decided to strengthen cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of migrants, he said.

– Then there is the issue of returns and readmission. The return rate is very low. We have identified the areas where we need to work to increase returns. We are also determined to allocate more funds for the protection of external borders, he added.

At the same press conference, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, stressed that European Union Member States must act together to combat irregular immigration.

“We have agreed concrete and operational steps forward in two directions. Firstly, to keep up the momentum on the Pact on Migration and Asylum. I’m counting on presidencies Sweden and Spain in the EU Council, she said.

Secondly, four types of priority measures we can take now: strengthening the external borders, speeding up readmission and combating people smuggling, working with partners on readmission, addressing the issue of secondary movements of migrants, explained the head of the European Commission.

The Reuters agency writes in the summary of Thursday’s meeting that immigration raises a lot of anxiety in Austria, Belgiumthe Netherlands and Denmark. They are representatives of of these countries spoke during the debate on immigration.

“We have to put the brakes on illegal immigration,” said the Chancellor Austria Karl Nehammer. He said that “it doesn’t matter if we call it a fence or border infrastructure”, what matters is the obstacles in the way of immigrants. He gave the example of Bulgaria, pointing out that without money, it would not be able to cope with the migrants flowing through it to the rest of Europe, and that the basis for well-protected borders was “supervision”, “monitoring” at the borders.

The Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, emphasized that he was against financing the walls, and that Europe still had to overcome the divisions created after World War II. – What we have on the table at the moment regarding Bulgaria-Turkey (the EU’s external border – ed.) is not enough. In this situation, new fences, new walls will be built. Should the conclusion be that we want to have a fortress in Europe? – He was asking.

The Reuters agency recalls the EU report, which noted that compared to 2014, the length of various types of walls and barriers at the borders in the European Union countries increased from 300 km to over 2,000 km.

Ursula von der Leyen also informed about the results of the leaders’ talks on EU industrial policy. – Our cleantech industry is innovative and competitive. Now it’s about keeping our lead. I presented our plan for an industrial Green Deal combining enabling rules, financing, skills and an active trade policy. Leaders have given the green light, so we will submit proposals to the March European Council, said Ursula von der Leyen.