On Monday 25 January 2016, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn, joined Deputy PM Étienne Schneider in Amsterdam to discuss migration and its impact on the European Union at the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council.
At Amsterdam's Scheepvaartmuseum, Ministers addressed ways in which the EU needed to strengthen the Schengen area, highlighting it as the basis of the free movement of persons and therefore the economic model of the European Union.
Ministers then discussed the management of the migration crisis, particularly with regards to the protection and joint management of external borders. Many Member States, of which Luxembourg was one, expressed support for the activation of Article 26 of the Schengen Borders Code with a view to remedying the current issues in external border controls.
Those present then looked to the establishment and role of the future European Borders and Coast Guard Agency, which would consolidate national authorities and European agencies in a bid to supporting Member States and their efforts in controlling land and sea borders.
Photo by MAEE (L-R: European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos; Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Jean Asselborn)
