Hungary and Poland take joint stand against EU migration pact

Hungary and Poland wanted to use the summit to express their discontent over the migration pact that was recently pushed through, and that, they certainly did, the Politico news portal wrote in its reporting on the first day of the summit. EU heads of state and government negotiated until 1 am, but failed to reach a deal, and the talks continue on Friday.

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Migration is not an issue that will just go away and it is becoming an increasingly unavoidable subject at every EU summit, Politico summed up the opinions of diplomats the news portal asked.  

Recently, the EU adopted by majority vote a proposal on a mandatory migrant quota scheme, but Hungary and Poland continue to find the deal unacceptable and demand that all migration decisions be adopted only by consensus even though, according to Politico,  the EU doesn't require that.

Hungary rejects the European Commission's proposal for a new migration and asylum pact and considers it unacceptable that, according to the text, member states would be forced to distribute thousands or even tens of thousands of migrants among themselves,

said Balazs Orban, political director of the Hungarian prime minister, in Brussels on Thursday.

The portal quotes a post shared by Balazs Orban on social media after the meeting on Thursday ended:

Heavy fight against the pro-migration forces of Brussels!

"The migration deal stands," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said as he left the summit. "What has been the issue today was not the migration pact … but that Hungary and Poland don't like the way the migration pact was decided." 

The text of one potential compromise version of the final statement calls for the EU to "find consensus on an effective asylum and migration policy".

The issue of migration should simply always be on the agenda, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said, according to the Brussels-based news portal.

Politico drew attention to growing anti-migration sentiment, even in places like Ireland, and to the rise in popularity of far-right parties.

To avoid a fierce debate on migration, summit organisers took several steps in the run-up and circulated drafts of the joint statement that only indirectly referenced the migration agreement. The drafts also tried to go round another point of contention:  a push from several countries to include a reference to finding "innovative solutions" on migration. Put it differently, the term implies that the EU would not reject the possibility of sending asylum seekers to non-EU countries. This model would be similar to a UK plan to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda, a proposal that was struck down by the UK Court of Appeal's ruling on Thursday.

The only country that seemed satisfied was Italy, being the clear victor of the recent migration deal, Politico points out.

"It was a unique approach that fixed everyone's problems," Giorgia Meloni said as she arrived at the summit.  Belgian PM De Croo even praised his Italian counterpart's role as an intermediary with Hungary and Poland. 

"There is really, really, really a desire to be able to come to conclusions," Mr De Croo stressed. But it remains far from clear if leaders will be able to reach a deal on Friday, Politico wrote in conclusion of its report.

Cover photo: Illustration (Source: Shutterstock)