Dear all,
I want to start by thanking Interior Minister Valentin Radev for welcoming us in Sofia today for the first meeting of Interior Ministers under the Bulgarian Presidency.
We had constructive discussions on the EU's asylum system, on the external dimension of migration, and on border management – key issues that we will have to work on in the coming 5 months.
On the asylum reform: Our discussions today took place in a very positive and constructive atmosphere. Of course we did not take final decisions, but there is a common understanding that we need to reform the Common European Asylum System.
We all agree that we need a system that is strong, balanced, effective and fair – for everyone. We all want a system which prevents secondary movements and sanctions abuses. And we all want a new asylum system that better balances responsibility and solidarity between Member States.
I fully support the approach of the Bulgarian Presidency to prioritise and intensify the work on the Dublin Regulation. I am confident that in parallel we can make significant progress on all elements of the asylum reform so that Leaders can reach an overall agreement by June.
At the same time, we cannot lose sight of the bigger picture. A humane and fair asylum policy goes hand in hand with strong and protected external borders.
Today, our external borders are better managed and protected thanks to our collective European efforts. We now have systematic checks on everyone crossing our external borders.
And let me also highlight that over 1,700 officers from the European Border and Coast Guard are now helping over 100,000 national border guards control the external border.
But more needs to be done. We now must move towards a truly integrated management of our external borders. And we have seen in our discussions today that Member States are ready to advance together in this direction.
On return, I urge Member States to use the European Border and Coast Guard to its full potential. We need to be able to return people who have no right to stay on our territory if we want to keep the door open to those in need of protection. Member States need to do their part too: by ensuring swifter and more effective return procedures.
Working with third countries is also essential for this. We have already made progress in our discussions with key third countries on readmission.
And we are working with our international partners on an approach to manage migration globally in a humane and efficient way, all together. Ahead of the negotiation of the global compact on migration with the United Nations, we discussed today what we think from the EU perspective the building blocks of this global approach should be. It is clear that on the one hand countries of destination need to allow for channels of legal migration, and on the other hand countries of origin need to show readiness to readmit their own nationals who have migrated irregularly.
I wish to thank the Bulgarian Presidency once again for prioritising migration, asylum and border issues. We have a clear roadmap for the coming months. I look forward to moving ahead together.
Thank you