Today the Council reached an agreement on two key asylum and migration files:

• The asylum procedures regulation (APR) establishes a common procedure across the EU that Member States need to follow when people seek international protection. The regulation contains a border procedure rule which allows to quickly assess at the EU’s external borders whether applications are unfounded or inadmissible.
   
• The asylum and migration management regulation (AMMR) should replace the current Dublin regulation. The purpose of the AMMR is to determine which member state is responsible for the examination of an asylum application. It also establishes a new migration management and solidarity mechanism which would assure a more even distribution of migrants across the EU.

The Council also paid particular attention to the Action Plan for the Western Mediterranean/Atlantic route which was presented by the Commission on 6 June 2023. This Action plan presents 18 targeted operational measures. The goal is to support Member States to strengthen migration management along this route, preventing irregular departures and saving lives, while working closely with key partner countries. This Action Plan complements the ongoing work targeting other key migratory routes to Europe.

Ministers also:

• welcomed the presentation of the Commission of its State of Schengen report 2023 and agreed on the areas that should receive special attention from the Council for the next Schengen Council cycle 2023-2024: (i) lifting of the border controls with Bulgaria and Romania, (ii) making the return systems more effective, (iii) boosting law enforcement cooperation to fight organised crime and drug trafficking, (iv) strengthen work on migration and border management. 
   
• called for a more strategic use of the EU visa policy and welcomed the Commission’s plan to come up with a legislative proposal – in the second semester of this year – to make the visa suspension mechanism more efficient. 
   
• welcomed the presentation of the eu-LISA, the EU agency in charge of the operational management of IT systems in the area of migration, security and justice, about the implementation of interoperability of EU information systems. A revised timeline for the technical readiness of these systems should be presented at the JHA Council in October.

For additional information, please read the press release from the Council.