Joint Statement of the Visegrad Group Countries on the current migration situation

Before the extraordinary meeting of the European Council on migration, the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group countries agreed to a common statement on the solution of the current refugee crisis. Their key priorities and objectives for the coming months are summarized in the declaration below:

JOINT STATEMENT OF THE VISEGRAD GROUP COUNTRIES ON THE CURRENT MIGRATION SITUATION

BRUSSELS, 23 September 2015

We, the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group, convene in Brussels on 23 September 2015, to coordinate our positions ahead of the Informal Meeting of Heads of State or Government. Todays’ Informal Meeting of Heads of State or Government is an opportunity to refocus the EU debate on core priorities and real solutions to the current migration-related challenges and this opportunity should not be missed.

We reiterate that an effective management of the root causes of migration flows must be the stepping stone of EU approach to the current situation. We declare full readiness to strengthen our engagement in this respect and to further contribute to joint EU actions. The key elements of the EU common approach for the coming months should include especially:

• ensure effective control and protection of the EU external borders in all aspects;
• swift adoption of a common EU list of safe countries of origin;
• more effective return policy accompanied by operational readmission agreements with key countries;
• swift implementation of functional hotspots;
• strengthening the fight against organized crime and trafficking;
• more active engagement in solving the situation in Libya, Syria and the Middle East;
• more effective and targeted assistance (including through conditionality) to countries of origin and of transit with the aim of combating root causes of migration.

We invite the European Commission to present a detailed and realistic implementation roadmap. Furthermore, we call on the European Commission to mobilize the relevant resources, to coordinate actively all relevant EU policies and instruments so that these can be fully used, strengthened, improved and aligned with national policies and instruments while reassuring the Member States and the Commission that we stand ready to take part in these efforts and to adequately contribute to their execution.