THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Reforming Europe in a time of war

The shortfall of the European migratory and asylum policy 51 The current situation therefore demonstrates that Member States are facing major challenges, but this re- quires consensus concerning blockages on issues such as the definition and scope of solidarity mechanisms, the border procedure and the application of pre-screening, the position of countries that are on the front line of arrivals and that require a balance between solidarity and shared responsibility, all from a protection framework which requires maximum respect for fundamental rights. Various countries maintain their different stances on procedures and solidarity. In this respect, Spain and other countries on the European Union’s southern border have opposed several of the proposed measures, deeming that these measures do not resolve questions on the division of responsibilities and the principle of solidarity that were raised in the 2015 crisis, and they do not reflect the southern countries’ interests. In the last meeting in February 2022, the Home Af- fairs and Migration Ministers from Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta backed a common strategy, in line with the “step by step” focus backed by the French President of the European Union, that allows gradual progress, respecting the principles of responsibility and solidarity, to support actions that boost the exterior element of the migratory policy, in line with the Spanish hypotheses and conclusions from the European Council meetings in June, October and December 2021 so that “ Prevention in origin and transit countries should be a real cornerstone for the European Pact on Migration and Asylum. ” In June 2022, these countries met up once again, asking that the French Presidency’s solidarity proposal be used to help border countries and that agreements should be reached on relocation. At this meeting, they once again supported the Pact’s gradual approach. The French Presidency of the Council expressed its intention to drive negotiations on reforming the Schen- gen Borders Code and the new Asylum and Migration Pact. President Macron proposed a “gradual approach” or “progress in stages” to unblock the New Pact, adapt- ing any front-line elements of the Pact where political agreement was easier. This is contrary to the “package approach” that the European Parliament backed in ne- gotiations during the previous term of office. Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta (MED5) defended a common position to follow the gradual focus proposed by the French Presidency. They agreed to allow this “gradual progress” as long as it respected the principles of respon- sibility and solidarity and supported actions on the exter- nal dimension of the migratory policy and strengthening European partnerships with the main countries of origin and transit for migrants. The French Presidency hoped to come to an agreement between March and June 2022. On 10 June 2022, after the Council meeting, some agreements (or some heads of terms) were forged to set up the “step by step” agreement, specifically regarding the Regulation on the pre-entry screening mechanism, Regulation on EURODAC and on the solidarity mech- anism. Many countries emphasised that this was the first time they were really talking about solidarity and making a commitment to it. However, there seemed to be no tangible development, and any progress in op- erations (specifying commitments defined by Member States) would come from subsequent meetings with the Commission. In this way, adoption of the negotiation mandates on the two aforementioned regulations will be formalised shortly. Regarding the proposal for relocation, 12 countries have committed to setting up relocation systems (includ- ing France and Germany). Countries that do not accept relocation will have to provide direct economic support to the most affected countries, without involving a Europe- an fund. A large majority of Member States are in favour of this first stage of approving the Pact relating to the ex- ternal dimension (solidarity and responsibility) and they have warmly received the flexibility of the mechanism and the fact that relocation is not the only instrument of solidarity. Some countries such as Austria, Hungary and Poland are against the French Presidency’s proposal. For Austria, this proposal sends out all the wrong signals to people traffickers. Some proposals were received after the Council meeting. The French Presidency wishes to get at least