European Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson, expressed optimism on Thursday that EU interior ministers would reach a final agreement on new rules for managing the migration crisis within the Union during the Council of Interior Affairs meeting in Brussels.
Johansson said in a press statement, “We have made progress, and I am hopeful that we can reach an agreement today on the final part of the migration pact, after which we can begin the trilogue negotiations,” referring to negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission to adopt EU legislation, as reported by the Italian news agency ANSA.
The European official added that as with other parts of the pact, there was tension initially, “but in the end, we succeeded in managing the agreement.”
The new migration and asylum pact, proposed by the European Commission in 2020, aims to create a fairer, more efficient, and sustainable migration and asylum process for the European Union, with a focus on solidarity and responsibility-sharing among member states.
However, negotiations have been slow amid deep divisions within the bloc on how to proceed, with strong opposition, especially from Hungary and Poland.
On the other hand, the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, expressed optimism about the possibility of a breakthrough to end the deadlock this week or next week.
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reiterated his opposition to the agreement, writing on his platform “X” (formerly Twitter), “Brussels wants us to agree to the failed migrant pact before the next European elections. While illegal migrants attack our police officers, Brussels wants to force us to let them in.”
