Due to the Polish-Hungarian resistance, there was no migration paragraph in the Granada statement, a dampener for host Pedro Sánchez, the Prime Minister of Spain. In recent weeks, he has been pushing for an ambitious text on the future of the EU, including the approach to irregular migration. Under pressure from most EU leaders, the draft text for Granada was already limited to just two pages of generalities. Diplomats spoke in the corridors about the Declaration of “Gran Nada”, the great nothingness. But that was also too much for Poland and Hungary.
Arriving Friday for the meeting with his EU colleagues, Orbán made it clear that there was no chance of an agreement. “Not today and not in the coming years.” He was furious about the decision of the member states earlier this week to distribute migrants more fairly across the EU countries in the event of migration crises. Poland and Hungary opposed but were outvoted.
Junk stairs
“We have been legally raped,” Orbán said. “And if you’re forced to accept something you don’t want, how can you ever reach an agreement?” Morawiecki lashed out at his opponent Donald Tusk in the Polish elections next week. Tusk would agree to European migration plans, which, according to Morawiecki, require his country to accept large numbers of migrants. He said he would stop “this madness”.
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described his Hungarian colleague’s comments as “crap”. The Polish-Hungarian position made a joint final statement impossible. The migration paragraph had to be removed and was presented as the conclusion of EU President Charles Michel.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said afterwards that she was confident that the EU’s new migration policy would be adopted in the coming months, despite furious resistance from Warsaw and Budapest. “Migration will always be there, it’s about managing it well,” said Von der Leyen.
Michel’s conclusion, supported by Von der Leyen and the other 25 EU government leaders, emphasizes better border control and agreements with African countries to stop migrants. The 25 leaders also promised more opportunities for legal labor migration. “That makes it easier to combat irregular migration,” said Von der Leyen.
Ukraine
The leaders also discussed for the first time the consequences for the EU if it no longer consists of 27 but 36 countries, including Ukraine, Moldova and the Western Balkans. According to Michel, the Union will have to determine in the near future which matters are still eligible for EU subsidies, how they should be paid and how an EU with 36 member states can operate decisively.
Leaders did not commit to a date by which the EU should be ready to receive newcomers. Michel had previously insisted on this, arguing for 2030. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called that “way too far away”. But most other leaders fear that a date will be interpreted as a promise by the candidate countries, which will prevent them from implementing the required reforms.
