Von der Leyen, in a letter to EU leaders, calls for strict measures in the field of migration

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, sent a letter today to European leaders ahead of the two-day European Council summit that begins on Thursday, in which she asks them for a series of measures to respond to illegal migration.

Among the measures advocated by the head of the Commission are the establishment of a framework for emergency response when migration is used as a weapon, expanding the powers of the EU border agency Frontex, and increasing deportation rates, the Brussels portal Politico reported.

Von der Leyen wrote to EU leaders following this summer’s migrant crisis in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, when about 70,000 migrants entered that Spanish territory from Morocco.

“We must prevent such threats and make it clear that we will never compromise the protection of our external borders—no state or non-state actor will be allowed to abuse our rules or values to destabilize the Union,” wrote von der Leyen, as reported by Politico.

The letter from the President of the Commission addressed to the leaders of the 27 EU member states will serve as the basis for discussion on migration on the second day of the summit, on Friday.

As stated in the official announcement of the summit, EU leaders will, in conditions of increased geopolitical uncertainty, focus on economic issues and challenges to European competitiveness, including energy prices.

In addition to migration, topics of discussion among heads of state and government will include the new long-term EU budget for the period 2028-2034, continued support for Ukraine, hybrid attacks in Europe linked to Russia, enlargement and reforms, as well as the situation in the Middle East.

Regarding enlargement, leaders will discuss further steps in this area and reforms, taking into account the Commission’s statement “Preparing for a wider Union.”

In this context, the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, stated in his invitation to leaders for the summit that the ongoing work on the accession agreement with Montenegro will be particularly highlighted during the discussions, as well as the goal to conclude negotiations by the end of this year.