Greece has urged the European Union to permit member states to temporarily suspend asylum applications during periods of mass migration, citing the inadequacy of current rules to manage emergencies like the recent surge in Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta. This proposal was presented at the EU interior ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday during the Justice and Home Affairs Council and received support from some member states.
Greek Migration Minister Thanos Plevris stated that while the EU’s migration pact, effective since June, has improved the bloc’s capacity to manage migration flows, it has not gone far enough. He emphasized the need for enhanced border surveillance and the suspension of asylum during emergencies.
Dutch Migration Minister Bart van den Brink supported this approach, asserting that mass arrivals, such as those in Ceuta, should be treated as a border management issue rather than an asylum issue. Spain reported that over 72,000 migrants entered Ceuta in late July; although most have returned, approximately 10,000 remain, prompting calls for a stricter approach in several European capitals.
Anti-immigration sentiment has been a significant political force in Europe since over a million migrants, primarily Syrians fleeing conflict, arrived in the bloc in 2015. This influx has bolstered support for nationalist and far-right parties, leading many governments to adopt more restrictive migration policies focused on border controls, deterrence, and returns.
Irregular arrivals have decreased by 35 percent this year, while returns have increased by about 8 percent in the first half of the year. Several member states contend that despite the migration pact's success in reducing arrivals, it still lacks adequate tools for addressing large-scale emergencies, even though it includes mechanisms designed for such scenarios.
Plevris’s proposal follows a statement from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who indicated that the commission would introduce an emergency framework to enable member states to respond to sudden, large-scale arrivals. EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner noted that international law must still be upheld, stating, "Europe needs the means to protect its borders at all times. When movements are engineered and weaponised against us, this is not just a migration issue; it is a security issue … Of course we will always comply with fundamental rights and values."
On the same day, ministers approved a new return regulation allowing member states to create return hubs outside the EU. Two European Parliament politicians reported that Rwanda has engaged in preliminary discussions with some EU countries about hosting such a facility. Officials from Greece, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Denmark, known as the Group of Five, convened on the sidelines of the council. Van den Brink mentioned that a technical mission visited the potential host country in early September, with the aim of identifying it by the end of the year and beginning transfers in 2027.