Preparation of the State of the Union Speech and Progress on Migration
The College discussed the preparation of President Juncker's yearly address on the State of the European Union and adopted reports on Migration
State of the European Union
At the last College meeting before President Juncker addresses the European Parliament on the State of the European Union on 13 September in Strasbourg, Commissioners continued their collective reflection on the President's upcoming address and started preparing the Commission's Work Programme 2018.
Migration
In four progress reports adopted today, the Commission calls on all parties to sustain and further accelerate the good progress made in managing irregular migration flows, protecting the EU's external borders and supporting Member States experiencing migratory pressure.
Two years after the launch of the emergency mechanism, relocation continues to show a positive trend confirming the significant acceleration of relocations observed in 2017, with an average of 2,300 transfers per month since February 2017, to almost all Member States. As of 4 September, over 27,695 persons (19,244 from Greece, 8,451 from Italy) have been relocated. However, with around 2,800 persons still to be relocated from Greece and new applicants arriving in Italy every day, continuous efforts are needed on all sides. Member States must speed up the processing of relocation transfers and provide enough pledges for all candidates.
The EU resettlement scheme adopted in July 2015 is due to be successfully completed, with Member States and Schengen Associated States having already resettled 17,305 of the 22,504 agreed people. Under the EU-Turkey Statement, a total of 8,834 Syrians have been resettled from Turkey to the EU so far, including 1,028 new transfers since the last report. In total 22,518 have been resettled under both EU-level resettlement schemes since their launch.
The EU-Turkey Statement continues to ensure consistently low numbers of irregular arrivals in Greece and enabled almost 10,000 Syrians to be resettled to the EU. During the summer months, irregular crossings and deaths in the Central Mediterranean decreased significantly, reflecting also the concerted efforts by the EU. The European Border and Coast Guard is now fully operational, but more efforts are needed from Member States to take full advantage of the Agency's expanded mandate on returns.
Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom
Upon invitation of President Juncker, the Commission's Chief Negotiator for Article 50, Michel Barnier i, presented to the College the state of play of the Article 50 negotiations with the United Kingdom following the third round of negotiations completed last week. He also presented to the College the guiding principles for the political dialogue on Ireland and Northern Ireland in the Brexit negotiations.
Related links
Factsheet: Securing Europe's External Borders: The European Border and Coast Guard
Communication: Fifteenth Report on Relocation and Resettlement