Belgium’s Asylum and Migration Minister Anneleen Van Bossuyt will call for stronger EU external borders, a bigger role for Frontex and more effective returns at a meeting of European counterparts in Munich on Saturday.
Van Bossuyt is attending the Munich Migration Meeting for the second time. Representatives from 18 EU and non-EU countries, including the UK, are expected to discuss migration policy.
The N-VA minister is set to argue for a stronger European border agency, Frontex, ahead of a European Commission proposal due at the end of October.
In a press release, she said Europe must be able to act more quickly and more firmly at its external borders if it wants to bring irregular migration under control and prevent people from gaining easy access to EU territory.
She also said people who have no right to remain in Europe must be returned effectively, and that Frontex can and should play a larger part in that process.
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Another topic on the agenda is how Europe can persuade countries outside the EU to cooperate more on taking back their own nationals. Van Bossuyt said the EU should be prepared to use all available leverage.
She said the bloc should make greater use of its economic and diplomatic weight. According to the minister, countries seeking cooperation with the EU should also be expected to readmit nationals who are not allowed to stay in Europe.
If they refuse, there should be consequences, she said, citing visas, trade and development aid as possible pressure points.
The ministers will also discuss how Europe can respond better when an external border suddenly comes under heavy pressure, such as during the storming of the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Ceuta this summer.
First experiences with the European Pact on Asylum and Migration, which came into force on 12 June, will also be reviewed.
News website Euractiv has reported that several member states are already calling for changes and simplification of the pact. Van Bossuyt, however, said it should first be given enough time to prove itself in practice.
Belgium therefore wants a thorough review after one year, in June 2027, to identify bottlenecks and assess where the rules could be made simpler or more efficient.
“The Migration Pact was an important first step, but it is not enough on its own,” the minister said. “In the coming period, we must above all strengthen the links that are still too weak: protecting our external borders and ensuring that returns actually happen.”
