EU-Gipfel: Europa will Asylrecht in Krisenfällen einschränken

EU leaders reached an agreement at the EU summit on Friday to develop an emergency regulation for asylum, according to the EU declaration. The heads of state welcomed the Commission's intention to "develop a framework for emergency measures in close cooperation with the Member States," as reported by Handelsblatt. This could potentially allow EU member states to temporarily suspend the asylum right if situations at their borders threaten national security.

EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner aims to present the proposal for the crisis framework within the same year. The Austrian Commissioner sees this as an effective response to events like the July incident in Ceuta, Spain, where tens of thousands of people stormed the location in search of asylum. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed the desire to be better prepared for crises at the EU's external borders in a closing press conference.

"State and non-state actors" will fuel mass movements of people to sow panic and mistrust, von der Leyen said, highlighting the need to safeguard the EU's "inner security." The Commission will submit the proposal by the end of the year. Reports suggest that social media calls may have lured people to Ceuta, potentially as part of a mechanism to destabilize liberal nations through hybrid attacks.

The EU member states see this as a possible weapon for using migration as a tool against liberal nations. The duration of such exceptions, how they would be monitored, and whether there should be specific reporting mechanisms are still unclear. While there appears to be little resistance from European governments to Commissioner Brunner's proposal, many representatives have welcomed the plan, especially because it allows national states to declare a crisis situation.

Ceuta may still echo in some EU capitals due to strong opposition to a strong external security stance from within the governments of several EU countries. According to von der Leyen, the EU has made "enormous progress" on migration, and the debate at the summit on so-called pull factors – reasons why someone would rather migrate irregularly to a country – originated from the summer events.

Member states like Italy and Denmark brought up the topic because the Socialist government of Pedro Sánchez in Madrid had legalized possibilities for irregular migrants, with over a million of them applying for temporary work and residence permits by summer. Ceuta's migrant surge was allegedly fueled by Sánchez's policies, the argument states.

Poland also joined the initiative, which was supported by several member states. Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen aimed to spark more political discussions on migration within the powerful European Council of Heads of State and Government. In their eyes, internal immigration decisions should be guided by European interests.

Meanwhile, Italy intends to end border controls for connections from Spain, which it introduced after the Ceuta incidents, starting next week. Negotiations between Rome and Madrid are underway. A personal conversation between Sánchez and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the summit's edge on Thursday is said to have contributed to this.