MIDDAY BRIEF, IN BRIEF

Today at Commission, condemning Tusk’s stance on migration

Differing opinions on how to handle refugee crisis emerge ahead of European Council meetings.

On the agenda: European Council, Donald Tusk’s statements on migration.

On the podium: Commission chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas.

Preparing for the European Council: Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will meet Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and leaders of the Visegrad group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) to discuss migration issues ahead of the European Council meetings starting Thursday. Schinas confirmed that the hot topic of refugee relocation will be addressed in the meeting because “migration policy is not about money and borders.” He added that the EU should take “a holistic approach” to the refugee crisis. “It covers responsibility, solidarity, internal and external aspects of migration policies — all of which has been addressed by this Commission,” Schinas added.

Migration policy works, Commission argues: Schinas also weighed in on the ongoing spat between the Commission and the European Council about the effectiveness of the EU’s refugee relocation system. In a long, carefully worded statement, he said “the Commission firmly disagrees with the statement [by the European Council President Donald Tusk] that relocation as an emergency response has been ineffective. Over 32,000 people have been relocated — these are 90 percent of the people eligible for relocation.” Schinas argued that Tusk’s views on migration only “partially” represent the EU migration agenda and that managing asylum policies at the national level could “betray” all the work over the past two years to tackle the crisis.

Schinas suggests Avramopoulos went too far: The spokesman said that comments by Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos did not represent the view of the entire Commission. Avramopoulos called Tusk’s statements on migration “unacceptable” and “anti-European.” Schinas said Avramopoulos, like all commissioners, is a politician and commissioners may “express themselves as politicians.” Still, Schinas noted that despite the Commission disagreeing with Tusk’s stance on migration, “there is no dispute” between the two EU institutions. Schinas could not say if Juncker had spoken with Tusk since his letter was published on Tuesday, but he said the two are “in close, permanent contact.”