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EU's migration Zeitenwende must include all, no opt-outs, Danish minister says
EU's migration Zeitenwende must include all, no opt-outs, Danish minister says

Euractiv

time5 hours ago

  • Politics
  • Euractiv

EU's migration Zeitenwende must include all, no opt-outs, Danish minister says

Kaare Dybvad, Danish minister for integration and immigration, hopes Denmark's Council presidency can push returns forward, downplaying Dutch hopes of getting their own opt-out in an interview with Euractiv. Since Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen seized power in 2019, Dybvad has served as minister in her different governments and now holds the migration portfolio. As such, for the next half a year, Dybvad will sit at the end of the table when EU migration ministers meet. On Tuesday, he hosted his European counterparts and EU migration chief Magnus Brunner for an informal gathering in Copenhagen. What follows is an edited transcript. Denmark has been a vocal backer of 'return hubs.' What exactly is your position, and how widely supported is this idea across the EU? Dybvad: We support the return hubs as a concept. I'd say most European countries, at least the ones I've heard from, support return hubs in some form. Of course, there are concerns – especially about safeguarding human rights and monitoring conditions. But broadly, this approach is seen as a way to ensure that more people are actually returned. Is there any progress on where these return hubs might be located, or which third countries are in play? That's tricky. You don't get the countries before you get the deal. If you want these arrangements, you need to negotiate first – not announce names in advance. But I don't see it as harder than other agreements already out there. The Italian-Albanian deal, for example, shows it can be done. If the EU negotiates as a bloc, it has leverage. More broadly, there seems to be a shift across the EU toward stricter migration policy. Do you see this as sudden or something more gradual? It's been a gradual change. When I started three years ago, Austria was basically the only one supporting our line. Now that's changing – and the biggest shift came from Germany. Their new government openly supports abolishing the connection criteria. That's key to making third-country arrangements legal under EU law. Denmark has had an opt-out on justice and home affairs since the 90s – what role does that play in Denmark's position as a broker on migration issues? I've had that conversation with the former Dutch asylum minister, Marjolein Faber. She was very interested in getting one for the Netherlands. But honestly, I don't think the opt-out does a lot. There are areas where we don't vote or get affected by decisions, sure. But when it comes to real migration outcomes – lower numbers, better control – it's more about efficient return policy and coordination with neighbours. That matters more than any opt-out. At the European level, in the Council with the EU countries, how do you see Danish migration policy affecting other countries? I don't know if our migration policy directly affects other countries, but I think that we proved that you can, from a centre-left perspective, handle these problems, that you can get democratic control of migration policy. And I hope, and this is also what some of my colleagues say, that this inspires others to try to get better control, and to do it from a standardised and left position instead of letting far-right parties run with this agenda. Do you see other centre-left parties, your colleagues in S&D, adopting your stance on this? Aren't you pretty alone on the centre-left? I'm seeing a lot of centre-left parties, social democratic parties, and governments that are huge in this policy. In Austria, you have the SPÖ; in Germany, you have the SPD in government with the Christian Democrats. In Belgium, the Flemish social democrats are part of the coalition government. In Sweden, you'll see the opposition social democrats now also changing their policy. So I think I see it in quite a lot of places right now. And of course, many of the Central and Eastern European social democrats also have quite a strict policy. The Maltese government, which is social democratic, has also introduced some very strict migration policies. There are a lot of sovereign democrats and governments in Europe right now implementing some of the policies that we have tried to implement. But in the European Parliament, the Socialists are led by the Spanish delegation, one of the biggest, and far from your line. How do you get them on board? That's going to be a discussion in the coming half year, of course, from our side. I hope people will be reasonable, and that at least the delegations from different countries will look at their own countries and see what is working, and how we're actually implementing policy at the domestic level. And I'd say for the Spanish side – if I could get some kind of agreement like Spain has with Morocco, we would very much like that. I think there are some very effective migration policies that have been introduced by the Sánchez government – and at least from my side as a minister, I'm very jealous of that. (mm)

Rare earths and cutting business red tape in focus as EU, Japan eye economic upgrade
Rare earths and cutting business red tape in focus as EU, Japan eye economic upgrade

Euractiv

timea day ago

  • Business
  • Euractiv

Rare earths and cutting business red tape in focus as EU, Japan eye economic upgrade

Future cooperation could also extend to other sectors, a draft of EU-Japan summit communiqué, seen by Euractiv, states. Euractiv is part of the Trust Project Alexandra Brzozowski Euractiv Jul 22, 2025 13:28 2 min. read News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Strategic joint procurement of critical raw materials and tighter business-to-business links are set to form the backbone of a new 'EU-Japan Competitiveness Alliance,' according to a draft summit communiqué seen by Euractiv. The initiative, first reported by Japan-based weekly Nikkei, signals a major ramp-up in EU-Japan cooperation, touching on economic security, industrial policy, and supply chain resilience, and is expected to be launched when EU and Japanese leaders meet in Tokyo on Wednesday. 'Both sides will accelerate joint efforts to monitor and strengthen supply chains in strategic sectors and identify strategic goods and sectors for further cooperation under the expanded High-Level Economic Dialogue,' the latest draft of the summit text states. Initial cooperation will focus on critical raw materials and battery value chains, especially for clean tech and digital industries, though future expansion 'could extend to other sectors in the future,' both sides are expected to say. A new "economic two-plus-two" dialogue will bring together Japan's foreign and economy ministers with the EU's Trade Commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, and industry chief, Stéphane Séjourné, officials on both sides confirmed to Euractiv. While the summit communiqué invokes concerns about 'economic coercion' and 'non-market practices,' it carefully steers clear of naming China. Still, officials on both sides privately have acknowledged the new Alliance is aimed at reducing strategic dependencies on Beijing and other dominant suppliers. The US, meanwhile, is not mentioned either – even as Washington threatens to impose tariffs on both by 1 August. Instead, EU and Japanese leaders will merely commit to 'continue to contribute to maintaining and strengthening a stable and predictable rules-based free and fair economic order.' The pact includes pledges to deepen public-private cooperation, including dedicated business roundtables and industry platforms. Japanese business officials, however, remain wary, saying that excessive red tape continues to slow joint projects and hinder regulatory harmonisation. In a new twist, the draft communiqué also proposes the launch of a 'Japan-EU Defence Industry Dialogue (DID)' to promote collaboration on advanced and dual-use technologies – explicitly linking economic and security cooperation for the first time in the relationship. Japan, which signed a bilateral security pact with the EU last year, is now eyeing access to the bloc's forthcoming SAFE defence funds, though no formal timeline has yet been confirmed. (mm)

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