A Statement on Common EU Migration Reform
1 August 2026
Behind the numbers we have been reading in recent days are people: women, men and children, each with their own story, family and hopes. They are people whose dignity must remain at the centre of Europe’s response, in keeping with the values upon which Europe was founded.
Faced with this crisis, some governments have chosen to respond by proposing the suspension of Schengen for Spain. Yet weakening one of the European Union’s greatest achievements cannot be the answer. Schengen’s long-term preservation depends on strengthening our common external policies, not weakening our internal freedoms.
This is not an isolated incident. The situation in Ceuta and Melilla has repeatedly demonstrated how migration can be used as a tool of political pressure against individual Member States. When the European Union responds as a collection of separate national governments rather than as a united political community, it becomes easier for external actors to exploit those divisions. Protecting the Union’s external borders is therefore not only a matter of migration policy, but also of safeguarding European sovereignty.
No Member State can effectively manage these challenges alone. A coordinated European response is more effective than fragmented national measures and is essential to preserving both freedom of movement within Schengen and public confidence in the Union’s ability to manage migration.
Achieving this requires not less cooperation, but more unity, a genuinely common migration and asylum system that combines effective external border management, fair responsibility-sharing among Member States, faster and more consistent asylum procedures, effective returns for those without a legal right to remain, expanded legal migration pathways where appropriate, and stronger action against human trafficking and smuggling networks. Such a system should protect those who genuinely need asylum while ensuring that migration is managed in an orderly, predictable and sustainable manner.
At the same time, the European Union should work with countries of origin and transit to address the root causes that drive irregular migration. This means investing in long-term development, supporting conflict prevention and peacebuilding, strengthening economic opportunities, cooperating to dismantle criminal smuggling networks, and building partnerships that respect both human rights and the sovereignty of partner countries. Lasting solutions cannot be achieved solely at Europe’s borders; they require addressing the circumstances that compel people to undertake dangerous journeys in the first place.
The lesson of Ceuta is clear. Europe must be capable of upholding its humanitarian responsibilities, managing its borders, and acting together rather than separately. By combining solidarity with responsibility, security with compassion, and cooperation with effective governance, the European Union can build a migration system that is both credible and consistent with the values on which it was founded.
Endorsed by JEF Albania.