Preamble

Recalling the Chișinău Declaration of the Council of Europe of May 2026 on the European Convention on Human Rights in the context of migration;

Recalling the EPP Presidency Resolution on Migration of February 2026, which stressed preventing illegal migration, countering abuse of social systems, strengthening borders and returns, and fighting smuggling, rejecting large-scale regularisation schemes that undermine the credibility of the Union’s migration policy and generate secondary movements within the Schengen area, and enabling legal talent mobility where it serves Europe’s competitiveness;

Considering that large-scale or poorly coordinated regularisation schemes at national level risk weakening the credibility of the Union’s migration policy, generating strong pull factors and triggering secondary movements within the Schengen area, and that residence permits issued by Member States must not be misused to bypass common asylum and migration rules;

Considering that the Chișinău Declaration recognises the need to balance the general interest with individual rights, the sovereign right of states to control entry and residence, and the risk that unresolved migration challenges weaken public confidence;

Considering that uncontrolled illegal migration, weak returns, abuse of asylum procedures and pressure on housing, schools, health care and social systems undermine social cohesion and citizens’ trust;

The European People’s Party: 

• Reaffirms its commitment to stop illegal migration to Europe, fully implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum, protect external borders and ensure swift returns of those without a right to stay, especially persons threatening public order or security;

• Calls for stronger cooperation with countries of origin and transit, using visa policy, development funding, trade, legal mobility and readmission agreements as leverage for measurable cooperation on border management, return and readmission; the fight against people smugglers; underlines the important role of the new Pact for the Mediterranean in this regard;

• Supports innovative, legally sound solutions, including return hubs and safe third-country arrangements, provided they respect human dignity, fundamental rights and effective safeguards;

• Urges the European Commission to look into further legislative measures to prevent illegal migration into the EU, including the explicit right for Member States to refuse asylum procedures at external EU borders in cases of instrumentalisation and in cases, in which illegal migrants try to enter the EU from a safe third country.

• Asks the European Commission to consider an update of Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 and Directive (EU) 2024/1346 with a view to abolish the status of subsidiary protection to allow a faster return of refugees after the end of a civil war in their countries of origin.

• Stresses that European social systems must not be abused and that access to benefits must be based on clear rules, lawful residence, individual need and cooperation with integration and return obligations;

• Calls upon national, European and international judicial institutions to recognise the challenges posed by illegal migration and to allow Member States sufficient scope, within the scope of EU law and the rule of law, to restrict family reunification where necessary and proportionate, taking into account integration capacity, housing, child welfare, public order and social cohesion;

• Calls upon international judicial institutions to remain attentive to contemporary realities and societal concerns, in line with the Chișinău Declaration, to preserve and reinforce the trust of the public in the rule of law;

• Urges all member states of the Council of Europe to adopt an additional protocol on asylum and migration to the European Convention on Human Rights to ensure that the EU Member States will be able to effectively defend their external borders against illegal migration and to return criminal foreigners’ home or to safe third countries.

• Reaffirms its commitment to protecting women, girls and vulnerable groups from honour-based violence and harmful practices, including forced marriage, female genital mutilation, trafficking, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence;

• Commits to improving the collection and analysis of data on violence against women, including relevant background factors where legally permissible, in order to better understand root causes and develop effective, evidence-based policy responses;

• Further commits to examining the phenomenon of political Islam and its implications for freedom, fundamental rights, social cohesion, equality between women and men, and merit-based societies, with a view to ensuring that European democratic values are upheld and protected; calls for a European-wide strategy to respond to this challenge, while clearly distinguishing it from the peaceful practice of Islam; urges the European Union to establish a well-resourced observatory on political Islam based on the successful example of the Austrian ‘Documentation Centre Political Islam’ in order to strengthen pluralism, democratic awareness and freedom of religion in the whole European Union;

• Recognises that well-managed legal mobility and pathways for orderly and safe migration are an integral part of the comprehensive approach to migration, and may be necessary to address labour-market needs and skills shortages, but must be controlled, targeted, economically beneficial and linked to integration;

Conclusion

The EPP stands for a Europe that protects its borders, enforces its laws and restores public confidence in migration policy. Illegal migration must be prevented, asylum systems must not be abused, return decisions must be enforced and unilateral regularisation schemes that create pull factors must be rejected. Only a firm and credible migration policy can preserve social cohesion and maintain citizens’ trust in the European project.