EPP Home Affairs Ministers participated in an online meeting, co-chaired by European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas and Belgian Minister of Interior Annelies Verlinden ahead of an Extraordinary Meeting of EU's Interior Ministers in Stockholm on Thursday. EPP President Manfred Weber also attended the meeting. Ministers took stock of the current negotiations on the European Commission’s migration and asylum pact. They agreed that the EU and its Member States have been working effortlessly towards a common and harmonised asylum and migration policy. However, there are still persistent shortcomings in the EU’s return and readmission policies concerning cooperation with a number of third countries. In anticipation of the special European Council meeting to be held on 9 and 10 February, EPP interior ministers discussed ways to obtain better results in countering irregular migration and to reach an agreement on a solidarity mechanism. They also recognised that the latter remains an issue of major ideological importance for the EPP family. Ministers agreed that the EU and its Member States should make better use of all diplomatic tools at their disposal as a leverage for improving cooperation with third countries both on readmission and return of irregular migrants.



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