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Ulviyya Poladova

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Interior ministers from 17 European countries will meet in Munich today to discuss proposals for tightening the European Union’s migration and asylum policies.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, whose country is hosting the meeting, told the Münchner Merkur newspaper that the talks aim to create common and substantive momentum for a shift in Europe’s migration policy.

According to Dobrindt, the EU needs to develop a new approach by strengthening the protection of its external borders, reinforcing the European Migration and Asylum Pact, and organizing returns more consistently.

To this end, the ministers will discuss proposals to expand the powers of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to improve the protection of the EU’s external borders and speed up returns.

Under the proposals, Frontex could play a greater role in the future in returning people who have little prospect of obtaining asylum at the EU’s external borders. The agency could also become involved in transferring migrants to the member states responsible for processing their cases under the Dublin procedures.

The proposal would also allow Frontex to participate in returns from non-EU transit countries and, in the future, from return centers planned to be established outside the EU.

At present, returns are primarily the responsibility of EU member states, while Frontex provides support for these operations. Any expansion of the agency’s mandate would have to be discussed and agreed upon at the EU level.

Dobrindt also proposed making more active use of visa policy as a tool in migration management. Under his proposal, visa restrictions could be considered for countries that refuse to readmit their citizens from EU member states.

EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner will also attend the meeting.

The discussions in Munich are expected to lay the groundwork for further talks at a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg next week and for the preparation of possible decisions to be considered by EU leaders.