Migration Row Heightens Tensions at European Leaders Summit

Jorge Valero and Natalia Ojewska
·2 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Tensions with Poland and Hungary over migration flows are complicating efforts by European Union leaders to agree on a joint declaration after a summit in Granada, Spain.

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At a meeting of EU ambassadors Wednesday, Poland and Hungary reiterated a demand that a Granada declaration on the EU’s strategic agenda due Friday should add references to earlier leaders’ conclusions stating that migration issues should be resolved by consensus, according to people familiar with the issue.

The demand risks preventing EU leaders from unanimously approving a final statement as happened during a summit early this year, said the people who asked not to be named on confidential discussions. That would wreck attempts by leaders to stage a public display of unity at their gathering. Polish elections could be factor fueling the discord, one of the people added.

Migration is an increasingly urgent and contentious issue for EU leaders meeting, with some countries taking unilateral measures to tighten controls as more people particularly from the Middle East and Africa flee violence and poverty at home to seek better lives in Europe.

Poland hopes that EU members will respect decisions taken in previous summits and that this will not trigger controversies, according to a Polish official.

Italy approved rules last month month to extend the time undocumented entrants can be detained to an EU maximum 18 months as a surge in the number of boats carrying people from North Africa overwhelm the island of Lampedusa, a longtime hotspot for Europe’s periodic crises. Migration remains a challenge for Greece too.

Separately, EU diplomats reached an agreement earlier this week on how to tackle immigration crises after years of failed attempts. Countries facing surges in third-country citizens crossing their borders would be allowed more flexibility on how to handle the arrivals. Poland and Hungary were the only countries that voted against the agreement, while a few other countries abstained.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put forward a 10-point action plan that includes support for managing the arrival and transfer of migrants, as well as stopping smugglers by bolstering air and sea surveillance.

Slovakia said Wednesday it will impose random checks on its border with Hungary in an attempt to prevent undocumented migrants from entering the country. The decision comes after Germany last week tightened controls on its eastern border with Poland and the Czech Republic. Authorities in Prague and Warsaw responded by introducing random checks at border crossings with Slovakia.

--With assistance from Piotr Skolimowski, Alonso Soto and Zoltan Simon.

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