Hungary and Poland's standoff on migration frustrates EU leaders' debate

BRUSSELS, June 30 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The leaders of the European Union have been unable on their first day of the summit to agree on a text on the common response to migratory pressure, after Hungary and Poland pressed to include commitments that were unaffordable for the rest of the partners, since they would imply giving up back on the agreement they reached weeks ago for an asylum burden-sharing system that these two countries oppose.

The European Heads of State and Government have spent hours trying to save the two paragraphs included in the draft conclusions and which pointed out the need for a common response to control the migratory pressure, avoid more tragedies in the Mediterranean and fight against the mafias that They traffic people.

The text whose wording was considered consolidated from the beginning of the meeting has been parked, according to different European sources consulted by Europa Press, when verifying that an agreement was not possible.

During the negotiations, the Prime Minister of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, and the Hungarian, Viktor Orbán, have defended changes in their wording to make it clear that migration decisions must be made by "consensus", which implies that they should not agree if any of the partners object.

"It is clear that some countries are clearly blocking the agreement, despite the great push from other countries to take advantage of this momentum", Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo said at the end of the first day of the Council, after trusting that "the night brings some concert" and hope that throughout the second day of meetings the leaders will be able to approach positions.

Different delegations consulted by Europa Press underline the "complexity" of the debates on migration, but also point out the opportunity to move forward to unblock the reform of the Migration Pact at a time of greater understanding between the Twenty-seven, after almost a decade without reaching an agreement on the reform of migration and asylum policy in the EU.

At the last meeting of EU Interior Ministers, on June 7 in Luxembourg, the 27 agreed to create a mechanism for sharing the reception of migrants who arrived irregularly in the countries of entry to the European Union subjected to increased pressure from migratory flows.

This system, the final version of which must still be negotiated with the European Parliament, aims to guarantee the "balance" between the solidarity demanded by the southern countries, such as Spain and Italy, and the red lines of the eastern and northern partners, who appeal to the "responsibility" of the former to contain the secondary movements. This mechanism will oblige countries to relocate to their territory part of the people who have arrived in a Member State if it is overwhelmed or to compensate financially or through other means the cost of that rejected solidarity.

This solidarity is a "red line" in the eyes of Poland, whose delegation has demanded that it be specified in the conclusions of the European Council that any form of relocation or transfer of migrants would always be done on a "voluntary basis", something that the rest of partners flatly reject.

The leaders will resume the migration debate on their second day of the summit starting at 09:30 this Friday, although it is not clear that they intend to translate what was discussed into a formal text.