The German chancellor Olaf Solz expressed today the hope that a comprehensive deal on immigration would be completed before the European elections in June 2024.
During a press conference after the summit in Brussels, Olaf Solz underlined the importance of the agreement on the common asylum policy reached in early June at the Council of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs. “This was a very significant success, which underlines that on difficult issues cooperation and agreement is possible for the European Union”. He added that this agreement entailed some “painful compromises”, which Germany also had to accept and expressed the hope that in the upcoming negotiations with the European Parliament, some improvements would be made. He noted that the important thing is for the negotiations to be completed quickly, preferably before the European elections.
The German chancellor stressed that the EU and especially Germany needs immigration to meet its labor demand which is expected to be quite large next year and noted that his country has passed a law on immigration for skilled labor. “It is important to limit irregular immigration and at the same time provide opportunities for legal immigration,” he said, acknowledging that not all member states agree with this German approach.
Besides, Olaf Solz said that the EU’s relations with Turkey were also discussed at the summit. As he pointed out, “after the elections in Turkey, we want to use the opportunities open to us to start a new good partnership”. He noted that the High Representative and the Commission have undertaken to submit proposals for the development of relations with Turkey. He said that there was a relevant discussion about Greece and Cyprus, stressing that “we hope to be able to give a new impetus to the developments on the Cyprus issue”.
It is recalled that following Germany’s initiative, a paragraph on Turkey was adopted in the conclusions of the European Council in the “Eastern Mediterranean” section.
Specifically, the text of the conclusions states the following for Turkey:
“Recalling its previous conclusions on EU relations with Turkey, including those of June 2021 and the statement of March 2021, and in light of the recent elections in Turkey, the European Council invites the European Commission and the EU High Representative to report to the European Council on the state of EU-Turkey relations, based on the means and options identified by the European Council and with a view to moving forward in a strategic and progressive manner.”
Source: News Beast
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