Leaders press EU to curb migration as Spain's regularization draws criticism

A pre-summit breakfast on migration

Giorgia Meloni, Friedrich Merz, Mette Frederiksen and Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten hosted a breakfast on migration before the European Council in Brussels on Friday, 16 October. Eighteen countries took part, without Spain, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attended as well. The leaders argued that the EU needs mechanisms to suspend asylum procedures during crises such as the mass arrival of irregular migrants in Ceuta in July, or when a third state uses migration as leverage. Meloni said on social media that the EU should keep a high level of vigilance on its external borders and revise EU legislation to make procedures for irregular migrants at borders more effective. Germany, Austria, Denmark, Greece and the Netherlands are working together on externalized deportation centres in third countries, but have not yet said where these would be built or what the host country would receive in return.

Draft conclusions target the migration gap

Draft summit conclusions backed by Italy, Poland and Denmark say irregular migration poses challenges that worry Europeans and is negatively affecting crime rates, according to three EU diplomats and a draft seen by POLITICO. The text also calls for avoiding measures that could create incentives for illegal migration. A further proposal asks the European Commission to examine tighter cooperation where a national initiative in one country affects the others. An EU representative said the proposal does not target any specific country, although its aim is to signal to Spain's government that it should not act alone.

Spain's regularization draws fire

Frederiksen told reporters on arrival that she had asked the Commission to examine cases where a country allows people who entered illegally to stay, saying this goes against a migration policy backed by a broad majority in Europe. She did not name Spain directly, although the remarks were widely read as aimed at Pedro Sanchez's government, which carried out a mass regularization of migrants. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš went further, saying some politicians are willing to replace the population with migrants simply to stay in office, and pointing to Spain as the example. El Confidencial noted that the remark repeated a conspiracy theory that Sanchez regularized migrants to win votes, although voting in general elections depends on nationality rather than legal residence. Austria's chancellor Christian Stocker said Spain had sent a bad signal by legalizing many immigrants. Babiš also warned that the Czech Republic might one day have to defend its borders against migrants from Western European states, and said his government was preparing for that, while avoiding a clear answer on whether Czechia would join return centres outside the EU.

Italy and Spain step back from confrontation

António Costa, the European Council president, tried to lower the temperature by saying the figures show the EU's comprehensive approach is working, with irregular border crossings at their lowest level since 2021. Meloni has avoided a direct clash with Sanchez in public, and on 15 October the two leaders agreed on the sidelines of the summit to extend temporary controls on connections with Spain by seven days, with the aim of coordinating their withdrawal with Madrid. Italy had introduced those controls in early August, and the decision comes after more than two months of tension between the two governments. Italy had also been negotiating to lift border checks at ports and airports introduced after the events in Ceuta.

What comes next

The Friday lunchtime debate is designed as a strategic discussion on how Europe should approach migration in the future, not as a vote on new measures, according to La Vanguardia. Sanchez is expected to receive solidarity from fellow leaders over the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta at the end of July. Five countries are pushing to build deportation centres inspired by Meloni's arrangement in Albania, but the sources do not say when or where those centres would open. Babiš has not said whether Czechia will join the return centres.