BRUSSELS – The European Commission presented an assessment indicating that the number of illegal migrants arriving in the EU over the past year has decreased by 35 percent. The Commission proposes that the EU Council approve a scheme for the resettlement of migrants, allowing exceptions for the most affected countries so far.
This group of countries includes Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Austria, and Poland, which have been under increased migratory pressure over the past five years. For these countries, it is proposed that they benefit from a partial or full exemption from the scheme next year. In Bulgaria, Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, France, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, and Finland, many migrants have arrived in recent years, and there are difficulties with their accommodation, so they should receive priority support from the EU, the Commission suggests.
Under the so-called solidarity scheme, EU countries are expected to either accept resettled migrants or make financial contributions. The Commission clarified that the proposal for the operation of the scheme (for the quotas on the distribution of migrants and the amount of financial contributions) will not be publicly available until it is reviewed by the EU Council. EU countries must reach an agreement on these indicators, which will become mandatory once adopted, the Commission explained.
These steps are expected to be completed by the middle of next year. The EC will present an annual report on the development of the migration situation, which will serve as a basis for determining future quotas and financial contributions. The countries most affected by the influx of migrants will be able to request their resettlement under the previously established schemes.
During the presentation of the proposals, the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Magnus Bruner noted that the largest reform in the EU’s migration policy is forthcoming. According to him, since the introduction of fully electronic checks at the external borders of the EU a month ago, four million crossings have already been registered, and data from over three million foreigners have been collected. (November 11)
