EU’s next steps after long-awaited migration deal

Good morning from Brussels,

Europe’s next steps after the EU Parliament sealed on Wednesday an agreement on dealing with migrants internally will be eyeing partnerships with countries of origin and transit.

Euractiv’s Max Griera reports that EU leaders want to boost efforts to finalise agreements with neighbouring states in North Africa and the Middle East to slow the influx of incoming migrants.

This will also be a main priority for Ursula von der Leyen if she remains the EU Commission chief after the elections in June, and Hungary, which takes over the rotating EU Presidency on 1 July, is interested in pushing it forward.

But this step has already sparked reactions. “Throwing money at dictators is not migration policy,” liberal MEP Sophie in’t Veld commented.

Read the full story here.

Meanwhile, in Greece, considered a front-line country, yesterday’s migration deal caused mixed feelings. Read more.

The EU has put together a framework document, based on the bloc’s existing and ongoing efforts, to give Ukraine lasting security commitments, according to a draft by the bloc’s diplomatic service (EEAS), seen by Euractiv’s Alexandra Brzozowski.

On the health front, the EU executive registered a European Citizens’ Initiative to support safe and accessible abortion.

In the digital world, the European industrial giants condemned the EU’s latest cybersecurity agency decision on cloud sovereignty.

Last but not least, the European Parliament on Wednesday approved legislation to improve consumer information on certain ‘breakfast’ foods, including more transparency in the labelling of the origin of honey, new categories for reduced-sugar fruit juices, and an increased fruit content in jams.

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BERLIN

Germany is lobbying EU partners to set up a new investment fund to support private business investment in Ukraine to help address the enormous cost of post-war reconstruction, according to a government framework passed on Wednesday. Read more.

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PARIS

French government introduces assisted dying bill. The French government introduced the bill on assisted dying on Wednesday, and Labour and Health Minister Catherine Vautrin outlined the details of the future law that will allow terminal patients suffering from long-term illnesses to decide to end their life. Read more.

HELSINKI

Finland’s Stubb wants to better structure EU and NATO defence tasks. Finland’s new President Alexander Stubb said on Wednesday he wants a clear distinction between EU and NATO on defence matters, with industrial policy and funds on one side, and military planning and threat countering on the other. Read more.

ROME

Italy’s “Super Bonus” tax scheme introduced by the second Conte government to mitigate the effects of the pandemic by introducing high tax deductions for homeowners sustainably renovating their homes is “probably the worst tax policy measure implemented in the country in the past decade”, the British observatory Oxford Economics said in a recent report. Read more.

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MADRID

Far-left separatists, conservatives lead official polls in tight Basque election race. The far-left and separatist EH Bildu is polling ahead of other parties but remains very close to the conservative-nationalist PNV ahead of elections in the Basque Country on 21 April, a poll by the state-run Centre for Sociological Research (CIS) published on Wednesday reads. Read more.
Spain’s radical left demands Sánchez cut ties with Israel, break 2% NATO pledge. Spain’s two main radical left parties, Sumar, the junior partner in Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government, and Podemos, a member of Sánchez’s previous progressive government, have asked the prime minister to cut ties with Israel and take back his pledge to increase the national defence budget to 2% of GDP in line with NATO commitments by 2029. Read more.

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ATHENS

EU migration deal ‘historic’ for Greek government, financial ‘solidarity’ for opposition. The long-awaited EU migration deal, which was sealed by the European Parliament on Wednesday, has caused mixed feelings in Greece, a front-line country. Read more.

WARSAW

Tusk vows to ‘protect’ Poland against EU migrant relocation. Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Wednesday said his government would “protect” Poland against the European Union migrant relocation scheme as the bloc adopted a major overhaul of its asylum rules. Read more.

Polish far-right begins election campaign with Polexit demand. Polish far-right leaders are launching their European election campaign by setting up parties that want Poland to leave the European Union, one of which was founded by former MEP Stanisław Żółtek. Read More.

SOFIA

Bulgaria left without an ombudsman amid political crisis. Bulgarian citizens are now left without a national ombudsman to protect their rights and freedoms following the resignation of incumbent Diana Kovatchev on Wednesday, as the country’s political crisis continues. Read more.

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BUCHAREST

NATO deputy secretary-general leads latest Romanian presidential poll. NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoană would win the first round of Romania’s presidential elections, scheduled for September 2024, according to an INSCOP poll released on Wednesday that echoed earlier polls that put Geoană ahead. Read more.

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[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos, Daniel Eck, Liene Lūsīte, Alice Taylor]