More needs to be done on returns, EU migration commissioner says
EU internal affairs and migration commissioner Magnus Brunner has just been speaking in Warsaw.
The Austrian said that while the EU has changed its migration and asylum policy last year, there is still more to be done on returns.
“Nobody understands why people [who] are not allowed to, cannot stay in the European Union are not going to be returned, and that is why are are working on new, tigher rules also on returns,” he said.
Asked specifically about the German motion passed last night, he said the EU needed to have a look at what was actually in the proposal.
Key events
Morning opening: What’s next for EU migration and asylum policy?
Jakub Krupa
A day after Germany’s conservative opposition, relying on the votes of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, pushed through a motion calling for a radical overhaul of the country’s migration and asylum policy, EU justice and home affairs ministers meet in Warsaw to discuss… migration.
Critics say the German proposals, proposed by the CDU/CSU which is leading in the polls ahead of next month’s general election and could soon find itself in power in Berlin, could breach EU laws.
Current chancellor Olaf Scholz warned yesterday that his government “pushed the boundaries” of what is possible but insisted that “we cannot and must not go beyond the law,” or Germany’s reputation as a law-abiding ally would be at risk.
However, most Germans seem to disagree as over 60% back the controversial proposals – including a majority of those Scholz’s voters.
In this context, EU justice and home affairs ministers gather in Warsaw this morning for an “informal meeting” to discuss migration management, among other things. Hope they have some good ideas.
Ministers will start arriving any moment now, and we will bring you their comments on arrival (if they say something interesting, that is).
But there is a lot going on elsewhere in Europe, too: in stark contrast to yesterday’s event, the Bundestag will be discussing whether to ban AfD, Nordic defence ministers are meeting in Helsinki, and we have lots of update on France, Serbia, Slovakia, Denmark, Greenland, and Ukraine, among others.
It’s Thursday, 30 January 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
