Good morning from Brussels,

Almost ten years after the official negotiations started over a comprehensive EU-wide agreement on migration and asylum, member states remain politically unable to find common ground. 

A new Migration Pact was ultimately agreed upon last year and is due to take effect in 2026. However, the increase in migration flows combined with the rise of far-right parties in member states have brought migration back on the agenda. 

The topic will be discussed again at a summit on 17-18 October, but it is not certain it will lead to concrete results, Euractiv’s Nicholas Wallace reports.

Germany, Spain, and France have all publicly called for earlier implementation of at least some parts of the new Migration Pact. In the meantime, Berlin is pushing for improving the overall implementation of transfers under the current scheme, the Dublin III Regulation. 

The latter puts responsibility for processing asylum requests on the first EU country where an asylum seeker arrives.

Athens says the conclusions should not refer to the Dublin regulation but instead have an “overall and detailed discussion” of the migration state of play, and concrete decisions could be postponed to December. 

The new Migration Pact will revise the Dublin rules to oblige EU governments to help member states that are overwhelmed by the number of migrants arriving – either by accepting some of those migrants themselves or providing financial assistance. Under current Dublin rules, this provision is voluntary.

But Warsaw and Budapest reject the new Migration Pact as a whole. Poland’s Donald Tusk said on Saturday that his government did not intend to respect the provisions of the new Pact. 

Meanwhile, the main opposition hard right PiS party mounts the pressure asking for a national referendum over the new Pact.

With the EU struggling to address Israel's possible violations of international humanitarian law, next month's foreign minister's talks could see a discussion of what to do about trade ties with Tel Aviv.

On the Ukraine front, the country’s ambassador to NATO told Euractiv in an interview that Kyiv should receive an invitation to join the military alliance as soon as possible, without waiting for an end to the war with Russia. 

Moreover, the EU Parliament’s INTA committee approved the Commission’s proposed €35 billion loan to Ukraine despite opposition from far right.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s destroyed energy infrastructure leaves Kyiv and its European allies racing against the onset of winter to stabilise the country's power grid.

When it comes to the EU transport, contrary to carmakers' claims, a new study by ICCT suggests that the gap for carmakers to meet the EU's 2025 emissions targets is “smaller than it seems”.

Last but not least, key stakeholders criticised the EU Commission’s mega-fund for research and innovation, saying the loss of autonomy for individual funding projects is the opposite of what is needed.

PARIS

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen defended herself in court on Monday in a case investigating allegations of the misappropriation of funds granted to MEPs, insisting the assistants were just doing politics. Read more.

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VIENNA

Austrian president delays government formation amid far-right FPÖ cooperation rejection. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen is set to delay granting a government formation mandate as no party is willing to cooperate with the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) despite its victory in the last general elections. Read more.

ROME 

First Italian migrant ship heads to new processing centre in Albania. Albanian migrant processing centres set up by the Italian government are set to welcome the first guests on Wednesday as an Italian Navy vessel, Libra, set off from Lampedusa on Monday. Read more.

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MADRID

Spain to send fiscal adjustment plan to Brussels. The Spanish government will send its first structural fiscal plan to the European Commission on Tuesday, a document containing concrete commitments to bring the country's public accounts into line with new European fiscal rules in the coming years. Read more.

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LISBON

Portugal promises fast implementation of the recovery plan. In its first plan under new EU budget rules, Portugal's government has promised the European Commission a recovery and resilience plan with "increased implementation speed" and sustainable finances despite the "particular challenge" of reformed economic governance. Read more.

PRAGUE

Czech officials have expressed hope that former Lithuanian prime minister Andrius Kubilius, the man tipped to join von der Leyen's team as European commissioner for Defence and Space, will put an end to Europe's "dreaming" on defence and push for more practical action.  Read more.

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WARSAW

Poland’s PiS wants national referendum on EU migration pact. Poland’s conservative PiS party, known for its hardline approach to migration during its rule, has proposed a nationwide referendum on the EU migration pact, just days after Prime Minister Donald Tusk came under fire from his own coalition for proposing a tougher migration strategy for the country. Read more.

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BUDAPEST

Hungary and Gazprom in talks for extra Russian gas for Budapest in 2025. Hungary and Russia's Gazprom are negotiating a deal for additional gas supplies next year to Budapest, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told Russia's RIA news agency in remarks published on Tuesday. Read more.

WESTERN BALKANS

Ten years after the Berlin Process was launched to accelerate the EU accession of Western Balkan states, the slow speed of the rapprochement was a key issue at the jubilee summit in Berlin, underlined by the dragging resolution of regional blockades. Read more.

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SOFIA

Bulgaria not an unconditional supporter of Western Balkans' EU integration. Bulgaria will not give unconditional support to the EU integration of the Western Balkans, amid constant conflicts between the institutions in Sofia and Skopje, caretaker Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, said in Berlin on Monday. Read more.

• EU: General Affairs Council convenes to discuss October European Council, fight against antisemitism, and more;
• Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council expected to discuss wholesale electricity prices, winter preparedness, state of energy union, and more;
• Second Accession Conference with Albania highlights include functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform, economic criteria and more;
• High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell participates in EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (EU-GCC) summit; Delivers keynote speech at S&D group conference on Middle East and Two-State Solution;
• Cohesion and Reforms Commission Elisa Ferreira delivers keynote speech at Just Transition Platform event;
• Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders holds videoconference call with UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle;
• Jobs and Social Rights Commissioner Nicolas Schmit meets representatives from Central European Trade Union Network;
• Equality Commissioner Helena Dalli delivers opening speech at G7 Inclusion and Disability meeting, in Umbria, in Italy; Meets with British Minister on Disability Stephen Timms; Meets with US special advisor Sara Minkara;
• International Partnerships Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen visits Dakar, Senegal, with Spanish Secretary of State for International Cooperation Eva Granados Galiano;

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Alice Taylor-Braçe]