Fælles brev om udrejse- og modtagecentre uden for Europa

Dear President of the European Council, President of the European Commission, Heads of State or Government of the European Council.

It always needs to be a democratic decision who can enter and stay in our countries. It is paramount that we keep on challenging the status quo, where human traffickers make a fortune and migration is instrumentalised.

During the past years, we have come together to find solutions to Europe’s migration challenges. This month, new important milestones were reached with agreement on the last pieces of key new legislation. A majority of Member States have taken part in the work on new and innovative solutions that can help reduce the irregular migratory flows towards Europe and increase the rate of returns. Together, we have redefined the European conversation about migration and reached broad consensus that we need a European migration policy that is both firm and fair. A migration policy that safeguards the cohesion of our societies and provides protection for the most vulnerable people.

Now we need to show concrete results that make a real difference for our citizens and move forward with solutions based in third countries as soon as possible. We need to make full use of the new possibilities and be ready to deal with any remaining obstacles effectively to ensure that we make new solutions a reality.

We believe that this is the most effective way to break the business models of migrant smugglers, remove the incentives for irregular migration towards Europe and ensure that those with no legal right to stay in Europe are returned. In compliance with EU law and international conventions and in close cooperation with third countries.

Some initiatives are already in operation like the Italy-Albania cooperation. Other countries are now working to implement the new possibilities, including hubs in third countries. We will personally lead the way to make sure our visions are brought to life.

We encourage willing Member States to pursue such solutions and engage with potential partners. We also encourage the Commission to continue to support Member States in these efforts, including with financial resources, and invite the UNHCR and IOM and other relevant international organisations to engage actively in the process.

Now is the time to act and deliver real results.

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