Copenhagen – The informal meeting of the interior ministers of the EU member states, which took place on Tuesday (July 22) in Copenhagen, Denmark, focused on strengthening civil protection, return policy, and better management of illegal migration. The Slovak Republic was represented at the meeting by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior (MV) SR Lucia Kurilovská, TASR reports.
Representatives of the EU member states agreed on the need to strengthen the capacities of civil protection, clarified in a press release by the spokesperson of MV SR Matej Neumann. According to the statement, emphasis was placed not only on material and personnel provision or education but also on improving coordination at the level of the entire Union.
During the discussion, the functioning of the EU Mechanism in the field of civil protection was highlighted, and there was also talk about the implementation of the approved Union Strategy in the area of the bloc’s preparedness. The new system is to be based on proactive crisis management – involving strategic foresight, early warning tools, and integrated risk assessment.
“Slovakia considers this topic to be extremely important, especially in the context of the upcoming reform of crisis management. The number and frequency of threats are increasing, and extraordinary events often exceed the capacities of individual states. The coordinating and supporting role of the Commission is therefore irreplaceable. Preparedness will cost us a lot of resources, but unpreparedness will cost us much more,” said Kurilovská.
The meeting continued with presentations from Cyprus, Denmark, and Italy, which presented their approaches to return policy. This was followed by an exchange of experiences among states to increase the efficiency of returns of persons unlawfully staying in the EU.
According to Eurostat data, only about a quarter of third-country nationals who unlawfully reside in the EU return to third countries. Many member states have therefore established specialized offices and return centers that offer support and motivation for voluntary return to rejected asylum seekers.
This situation, according to the Slovak Ministry of Interior, raises the question of legislative unification of approaches at the EU level and among Schengen area states. Slovakia also supports a stronger role for the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in the return process with appropriate strengthening of its mandate, according to the statement.
“We should not forget that for the effectiveness of the European return system, it would be ideal to start by minimizing unlawful arrivals in the EU. The next step is cooperation with third countries through positive and negative motivation and sufficient information about the benefits of voluntary returns,” added Kurilovská.
According to the Ministry of Interior SR, the upcoming EU return legislation brings several innovative elements – including sanctions for non-cooperation, the establishment of return centers, and the European Commission’s initiative to create a common list of safe countries of origin. This list is expected to accelerate and simplify the assessment of asylum applications that are likely unfounded, according to the ministry.
