EU Commissioner Brunner wants to engage in more migration diplomacy
Salzburg (APA) – EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner advocated at the Salzburg Europe Summit for the European Union to leverage its weight more in trade as well as in development and visa policy to enforce its migration policy. The EU should ensure that “our migration priorities are respected by third countries,” the Austrian said on Monday according to the speech text. The EU should engage in more migration diplomacy overall, emphasized the EU Commissioner.
Brunner also addressed his proposal for establishing a European system for the return against irregular migration. “When people are asked to leave the EU, they will leave the EU, regardless of where they are in the EU,” he said. “And this process will take place in every EU country according to common rules. We must decide who is allowed to stay in the European Union, not the smugglers! But all these measures are aimed at creating order in Europe.”
Only if the EU has control over events can it work on legal pathways for migration. This means more solidarity among EU countries and a better distribution of responsibilities, which is exactly what is happening within the framework of the so-called migration and asylum pact. Brunner further stated that the EU has taken on a lot of responsibility during the refugee crisis. “But without a system, without appropriate rules, without control. Ten years after the refugee crisis, we must ensure that we have a functioning system,” he emphasized. “We are now facing the most significant reform of European migration policy.”
“Do not take Europe’s security for granted”
Brunner called on the EU, in light of the “new era of geostrategic competition,” to unity and a new vision for the future of the European Union. “Together we must recognize that Europe’s security cannot be taken for granted. By acting together, we ensure that no threat is too great to overcome, and that our Union remains secure.” (29.09.2025)
