EU to present emergency framework for border migration by year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would present a new “European emergency response framework” by the end of the year to respond quickly to sudden, mass movements of people at its external borders.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union (EU) would present a new “European emergency response framework” by the end of the year so member states can respond quickly to serious threats at the external borders.

Von der Leyen assessed the outcome of the EU leaders’ summit held on October 15–16 at the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France. She said illegal border crossings into the EU had declined by 56 percent over the past two years and by 34 percent since the beginning of the year, while asylum applications had fallen by 19 percent.

Von der Leyen said the irregular migration attempt in Ceuta, Spain’s territory in North Africa, on July 31 showed that new threats could emerge rapidly at the borders. She stressed that the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, which entered into force on June 12, must be fully implemented.

A vehicle belonging to the EU border agency Frontex

Von der Leyen argued that some state and non-state actors organize sudden, mass movements of people to create panic and division in the EU. She also recalled that new legislation to expand the powers of the EU border agency Frontex would be presented.