EU to unveil emergency mechanism for migration crises by year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will unveil a new “European emergency response framework” by the end of the year for sudden mass movements of people at its external borders.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union will unveil a new “European emergency response framework” by the end of the year, enabling member states to respond quickly to serious threats at the external borders.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg after the EU summit on October 15–16, von der Leyen said irregular crossings of the EU’s borders had fallen by 56% over two years and by 34% since the beginning of the year. The number of asylum applications had declined by 19%.

Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa

She said the attempted mass entry of migrants into the Spanish city of Ceuta on July 31 showed that new threats at the borders could emerge very quickly. She called for the full implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which entered into force on June 12.

Von der Leyen also recalled that the European Commission would propose expanding the powers of the EU border agency Frontex. European Council President António Costa said in his address that the EU and its member states provide 80% of external aid to Ukraine.