Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission for a second term on Thursday. She quickly announced how she wanted to use that role to shape Europe's migration policy over the coming five years.
Ursula von der Leyen’s acceptance speech on Thursday (July 18) in the European Parliament underlined her priorities for Europe over the coming five years, including in the field of migration policy.
"We can't influence elections around the world, but what we can do is invest in security and the defense of our own continent," said the conservative politician to the EU Parliament. Von der Leyen wants to make sure that Europe is stronger as she takes it forward.
That will include tripling the number of Frontex officers operating at the EU’s borders, she promised, as well as strengthening bodies like the European police agency Europol.
Tripling Frontex officers
In the future, reported Germany’s weekly newspaper Die Zeit, Frontex should be operating with 30,000 operators. In her previous term, von der Leyen had promised to increase the number of Frontex officers to 10,000 by 2027.
The expansion of Frontex will help to increase security at the borders and enable us to better manage migration, explained von der Leyen. "Europe needs to respond to migration challenges," she said underlining that that is what the new pact on migration and asylum is for. "We need to take some big steps forward," von der Leyen added.
In a long speech, von der Leyen reminded parliamentarians that "Europe’s destiny hinges on what we do next." She said that Europe faced a clear choice, between choosing whether it will be shaped by events and the word around us, or whether "we will come together and build our future for ourselves."
The German politician, who was born in Belgium, acknowledged that many people in Europe were experiencing a period of "deep anxiety and uncertainty." This is why we need a strong Europe that is not torn apart by division, said von der Leyen.
Security
Von der Leyen added that security "is not only about external threats." She underlined that organized criminal networks infiltrating the economy and spreading corruption are one of the main threats to security in Europe. Some of these networks, she said, were also operating in the traffic of human beings and were not limited to national borders. This is why, she said she proposed doubling Europol’s staff and strengthening its mandate.
Europe's Eastern Border needed particular attention and strengthening, said von der Leyen, saying it was "becoming a target for hybrid attacks and provocations." The politician said that "Russia is luring migrants from Yemen up north and pushing them deliberately against the Finnish border. This is why, von der Leyen said she proposed tripling the number of European border and coastguards to 30,000."
EU Migration and Asylum pact
Under the Migration and Asylum pact, approved just at the end of the last term in office, von der Leyen said that the EU was making sure that "solidarity is at the heart of our common response." She said the "European response" to migration challenges needed to be "fair and firm" and an approach "based on our values."
Von der Leyen underlined that "migrants are human beings like you and me. And all of us, we are protected by human rights." She said that the agreement on the pact had shown critics that the EU was able to agree on migration policy and that it would be important to focus on the implementation of the pact in the next five years.
Von der Leyen said that a "common approach on returns," was important as well as developing "our comprehensive partnerships, in particular across our Southern neighborhood." The Mediterranean region, said the politician, deserved "undivided attention." A new commissioner for the region is due to be appointed to make sure that attention is focused.
UK looks for political cooperation with Europe
On the same day as the EU parliament voted von der Leyen back in, many European leaders were in the UK for the fourth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), an initiative started by France’s President Macron in 2022 with the aim to "foster political dialogue and cooperation" and "strengthen the security, stability and prosperity of the European continent," according to its website.
The meeting comprised 43 heads of state, including 24 EU member states, as well as Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine and the UK.
Policies are not usually directly made at these kinds of meetings, but the debates, conversations and informal meetings help influence the policies and agreements that emerge from participating countries and blocs later on.
Although the meeting had already been set up by his predecessor, Britain’s new Labour Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had his first opportunity to discuss themes like migration with representatives from across Europe and beyond.
Starmer: 'Shut down the smuggling routes'
According to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Starmer hopes to make tighter agreements with Paris and Brussels in the future to help him fight people smugglers operating in the Channel.
Starmer underlined that although Britain post-Brexit is no longer part of the EU, it is a very enthusiastic part of the European continent. Starmer underlined that with threats from Russia and uncertainty about who might be governing in the US in the future, the UK was keen to sign security agreements with the EU. He has also promised that his government will not withdraw the UK from the European Human Rights treaties.
The British Prime Minister also took part in a working group chaired by Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on the subject of migration. Edi Rama, Albania’s Prime Minister also took part in the same group. "We need to pool our resources so that we can shut down the smuggling roots and crack the criminal gangs," declared Starmer.
NGOs challenge the European Commission for an answer
Meanwhile, on Friday (July 19), the Italian medical NGO Emergency and four others published an open letter to the EU, in which they stated that the Commission had "failed in its commitment to assess, within 12 months, separate complaints to investigate Italian law and practices," which in the opinion of the NGOs “obstructs search and rescue activities in the central Mediterranean."
The NGOs, including The Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI), Doctors without Borders (MSF), Oxfam Italia and SOS Humanity said over the year they had submitted five separate complains about the Italian decree law passed at the beginning of January 2023. They find the practice of systematically assigning distant ports for disembarkation particularly problematic.
Marie Michel, policy expert at SOS Humanity said in a press statement that the group felt that the European Commission "is obliged to ensure that member states respect EU law and its uniform application," and that the decree was not in line with EU member states’ obligations under European and international maritime law, as well as human rights law.
Juan Matias Gil from MSF Search and Rescue said that the Commission had asked for more time to look into the complaint, but had already waited a year. The NGOs said they believed that the EC was just "stalling time" and by doing so was "condoning the systematic obstruction of saving lives in the Mediterranean"
The group ended their letter by writing:
"Europe cannot stay silent while its leaders are creating irresponsible laws that put people’s lives further at risk at sea."
As von der Leyen heads the European Commission for a second term, the NGOs await a response from her officials.
