Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council (Home Affairs), 25 November 2022

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Home affairs ministers discussed the current situation along all migratory routes, taking stock of the urgent challenges and joint way forward.

In the past years we have taken a number of measures to jointly address the migratory challenges we face. However, more can and must be done to find more sustainable solutions and adapt to the ever-evolving situation. At today’s meeting ministers reiterated their commitment to finding concrete common solutions that can be put in place immediately, while working closely together on concluding the ongoing migration reform as soon as possible.

Vít Rakušan, Czech Minister of Interior

Ministers underlined the importance of paying close attention to all routes, based on a whole-of-route approach. They confirmed the EU’s unity in facing the current and upcoming challenges.

The Presidency issued a summary at the end of the meeting, highlighting a number of principles for the joint way forward, including:

• continuous commitment to building more resilient migration and asylum system and dedicating all efforts to find compromise on the reform of the EU asylum and migration pact as soon as possible.
• the need to step up EU support and cooperation with all partner countries and organisations to prevent departures and avoid loss of life, to address the root causes of migration and fight against smuggling networks and to significantly improve return and readmission.
• welcoming the Commission´s action plan on the Central Mediterranean as well as its readiness to develop similar action plans for other routes, starting with the Western Balkan route.
• a commitment to increase efforts to implement the solidarity mechanism agreed by a number of member states in June
• the need to strengthen coordination and cooperation with all actors involved in search and rescue
• the importance of proper protection and management of EU external borders, refusing all attempts to instrumentalise migrants

• Extraordinary Home Affairs Council on the situation along all migratory routes and a joint way forward (Presidency summary)

• EU asylum reform (background information)
• EU migration policy (background information)
• Migration routes: Commission proposes Action Plan for Central Mediterranean to address immediate challenges (European Commission)