European Council meeting of 20-21 March: informal meeting on migration management

In the margins of the European Council meeting, the President of the Council of Ministers, Giorgia Meloni, together with the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, and the Dutch Prime Minister, Dick Schoof, held another informal meeting today with some of the Member States that have the most interest in innovative solutions for the management of migration, and in particular the strengthening of the legal framework regarding returns. 

In addition to Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and the European Commission, the meeting was also attended by the leaders of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Poland and Sweden.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined the main areas of the Commission’s work regarding migration, focusing in particular on the recent proposal for a new ‘Returns Regulation’.

As well as supporting a swift discussion and approval of the regulation by the Council and European Parliament, President Meloni called for rapid developments, as indicated by President von der Leyen in her usual letter prior to the European Council meeting, also regarding a European list of safe countries of origin and the early implementation of certain aspects of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, starting with the ‘safe country of origin’ concept.

Expressing their appreciation for the concrete operational work carried out by President von der Leyen, the leaders present agreed to continue maintaining close coordination also ahead of June’s European Council meeting.