EU marks immigration and asylum pact with special 12 June meeting

Brussels – Returns, repatriation, hubs in third countries: on the issue of immigration, the European Union intends to celebrate the outcome of a migration management agreement with a very special ceremony. The Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU announced an informal ministerial meeting in Nicosia on 12 June, the day the new rules come into force, specifically to mark the change in the legal framework. The announcement of this brand-new event was made by Nicholas Ioannides, Cyprus’s Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection, at the conclusion of the Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg, which was dedicated specifically to immigration.

​“On 12 June, the EU turns a new page in migration management,” Ioannides said, convinced that “the launch of the Pact on Migration and Asylum represents an important milestone and demonstrates our ability to find common solutions to shared challenges.” The Cypriot Presidency is celebrating because “the implementation of the Pact has been one of its top priorities and we have worked tirelessly to ensure a successful launch.” Therefore, “we will organise an informal conference in Cyprus to celebrate the entry into force of the Pact.” The EU continues to celebrate, and even self‑celebrate, measures that effectively lower the Union’s value standards as it opts to erode rights.

The Commissioner for Migration, Magnus Brunner, however, warns against becoming complacent: “On 12 June we won’t be cutting the ribbon, but we will be launching the operational system,” he stated during the closing press conference. There is still much to be done, so much so that he stressed that “after the summer, we will give a new mandate to Frontex (the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency, ed.) to increase support for Member States so that return measures lead to actual returns.” It will then be up to the Member States to play their part in returning irregular migrants. Regarding hubs in third countries on the Italy-Albania model , “it is important for the Commission to create a legal basis, and it has done so,” Brunner added. “Now, whether it works or not is up to the Member States. It will be the Member States who will also negotiate regarding the return hubs.”