Europe must improve migration procedures on its external borders, seal more deals with foreign countries and synchronise asylum policies in the bloc before it tackles the thorny issue of hosting asylum seekers, a top EU official said on Friday.

European Council President Charles Michel, who chairs summits of EU leaders, spoke to Reuters and five other European news agencies as the bloc prepares to have a fresh go at reforming its troubled asylum laws.

The system all but collapsed amidst a surge in arrivals of those fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa with more than a million people reaching the EU in 2015. This fuelled support for eurosceptic and nationalist groups, as well as contributing to Brexit.

“It’s not easy, it’s a difficult question and a difficult topic,” Michel said. “Let’s start with some initiatives which will help us be more efficient and maybe decrease political sensitivity of some other topics.”

By the latter, he meant deep rifts among the 27 EU countries over how to care for refugees and migrants.

Under the EU’s now-defunct rules, the southern states of arrival like Italy, Malta or Greece are responsible but they were quickly overwhelmed at the height of the sea arrivals season.

Countries opposed to immigration, such as Poland and Hungary, as well as Austria, however, refuse to help by hosting some of those people.

Years of such disputes damaged the EU’s cohesion, as well as leading it to tighten its external borders and asylum policies.

That has cut the numbers crossing the Mediterranean on unsafe dinghies but also drawn fire from rights groups over drownings and “Fortress Europe” denying help to those in need.

The bloc’s executive now wants overhaul of EU asylum law.

Sources told Reuters the proposal would still include obligatory relocation of asylum seekers among all member states at times of major immigration spikes, the element previously vehemently rejected by several states.

While the Commission’s proposal is expected at the end of September at the earliest, Michel said member states should first work more on external borders and clinching deals with foreign capitals under which the EU offers money and assistance in exchange for them hosting migrants and refugees rather than letting them embark for Europe.

Michel also proposed convergence of asylum benefits across the EU, where rich countries like Germany and Sweden are the most desired destinations, which contributes to uneven distribution of people across the bloc.

“Mandatory relocation is not the alpha and omega of the migration discussion. These threee points are more important,” he said.

Germany, which now holds the EU’s rotating presidency, hopes to get before the end of the year a “political road map” for a future deal to end rows over migration at a time when the EU faces challenges in its ties with Russia, China, Turkey and the United States.

Stressing how tall an order that would be, a senior EU diplomat told Reuters: “We are very far away from any sort of consensus. For different political reasons, the matter is still completely poisonous.” (Reuters)

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EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva … Johansson, extolled the EU‘s efforts since the …

The EU is set to sideline the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to try to end the persistent deadlock in negotiations, The Telegraph has reported citing sources. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is thereby expected to ultimately help arrange a trade deal between the bloc and the UK, with the heads of the 27 remaining member states reportedly set to take over the role of “sidelined” Barnier after von der Leyen’s speech on 16 September.

As an EU diplomat shared with The Telegraph, von der Leyen is expected to “set the scene to sideline Barnier and [the UK’s David] Frost to find a high level political solution”.

The talks on the EU behalf are expected to be led by the European Commission president, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and President of the European Council Charles Michel.

The news came as Lord David Frost, Britain’s Brexit negotiator, issued a warning to Brussels suggesting the bloc’s demands on fishing and state subsidies could “limit the progress” potentially made next week.

Indicating that the UK could indeed be eyeing a no-deal divorce from the EU, Frost said that London has been clear about its position from the very beginning:

 “The EU still insists we change our positions on state aid and fisheries if there are to be substantive textual discussions on anything else”.

“We will negotiate constructively but the EU’s stance may, realistically, limit the progress we can make next week”, he concluded.

Frost tweeted the comments after his European counterpart Michel Barnier said that while the UK can retain control over the waters washing its coasts, “the fish which are inside those waters” are “another story”.

The bloc has been scrambling to retain access for its fishing boats, while Downing Street is adamant that British trawlers operating in the area will be given priority.

Separately, Brussels is seeking a “level playing field” on state aid rules that would effectively tie Britain to EU regulations after the transition period comes to a close at the end of the year.

Just yesterday Boris Johnson insisted that the UK will “prosper mightily” regardless of the outcome of the trade talks. Confirming a readiness for “any eventuality”, the prime minister stressed they must make sure people understand that at the end of the year Britain is leaving the EU whatever it takes. “[…] we are leaving the EU, leaving the transition period. We will get through this”, Johnson vowed, reiterating his previous statement that it is “absolutely vital that our partners understand that the UK is going to do what we need to do”.

In late August, after rounds of negotiations on the subject resumed, Barnier lamented that the talks had actually gone “backwards” following months of lockdowns due to the coronavirus pandemic, as both sides conceded a deal appears unlikely.

Two more rounds of trade negotiations are slated for later this month, with the first taking place in London next week.

European Union leaders will decide on a “carrot and stick” approach to Turkey when they meet on September 24-25, their chairman said on Friday, proposing a multi-party conference to defuse tensions in the eastern Mediterranean.

European Council President Charles Michel who spoke to Reuters and five other European news agencies in Brussels also said said the EU would reaffirm its support for Greek and Cypriot sovereignty.

The message was sent as a stand-off over oil and gas deposits simmered between EU members Cyprus and Greece on one side and the bloc’s uneasy NATO ally Turkey on the other.

The EU has already imposed minor sanctions against Ankara over the matter and the 27 EU leaders will tackle it again soon in Brussels. Michel, who will host the meeting, said the EU would reaffirm its support for Greek and Cypriot sovereignty.

“We will identify tools in our external policy, a sticks and carrots approach – what tools to use to improve the relationship and what tools to react (with) if we are not being respected,” he said. “We want to be respected.”

Michel, who is due to travel to Greece, Cyprus and Malta before the summit, also proposed an international conference on the eastern Mediterranean involving the key parties and NATO.

“That could be the best way to de-escalate in the region and offer a channel for dialogue,” he said, adding he had already floated the idea with Athens and Ankara. “What is happening, what has been happening the last few weeks, cannot go on.”

Michel said the gathering could discuss the thorny issue of maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, energy, security and migration. Last month Turkey sent a survey vessel, escorted by frigates, to explore for oil and gas in waters claimed by Greece, a move Athens said was illegal.

A collision between Greek and Turkish warships shadowing the survey vessel last month highlighted the risk of conflict.

Michel declined to discuss the specific incentives or punitive steps the bloc could take with respect to Turkey.

Ankara has long sought an upgrade of its customs union with the EU, a process that has stalled over President Tayyip Erdogan’s sweeping anti-terrorism legislation that underpinned widespread jailings of opponents following an abortive 2016 military coup.

Turkey’s long-standing request to join the EU is all but dead over Erdogan’s perceived authoritarianism.

At the same time, the bloc relies on Turkey to prevent millions of Syrian and other refugees and migrants on its soil from heading to the EU, where migration feuds have spurred the rise of eurosceptic nationalist parties in recent years.

The EU has already promised 6 billion euros to help Turkey host migrants, though Ankara has long complained the money was too slow to arrive. The bloc could agree more such funding in one example of a positive gesture to Turkey.

Granting Turkey’s wish for visa-free travel to the bloc, however, has long been contentious among EU member states that also object to Erdogan’s track record on human rights and the broad, post-coup crackdown on dissent.

Asked about potential EU sanctions before Michel’s comments, a spokesman for Erdogan’s AK Party said the bloc could not expect cooperation from Turkey if it were hit with penalties over the eastern Mediterranean.

(Reuters)

The European Union is demanding a potential veto on Britain’s post-Brexit laws and regulations to be inscribed in the trade agreement, The Times reported on Saturday, citing senior government officials.

According to the newspaper, the UK’s chief negotiator Lord Frost has dismissed this approach.

Since the negotiations have been hampered by Britain insisting on full autonomy after the divorce, the possibility of a no-deal Brexit is looming ahead as both sides have blamed each other for the lack of progress in the previous seven rounds. According to the negotiators, the sticking points include access to fishing waters, the arbitration of legal disputes, and the so-called level playing field, the set of common rules and standards that prevent unfair trade competition.

The eighth round of trade talks between the UK and the EU is due to begin in London on Monday.