STRASBOURG (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose an emergency framework to prevent sudden massive inflows of migrants, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
The framework is meant to offer protection in strictly defined situations against “engineered and weaponized” mass movements of migrants, von der Leyen said in her state of the union speech in Strasbourg.
“The events of this summer show that our tools need to evolve, especially for emergency situations. Europe needs the means to protect its borders at all times,” von der Leyen said.
“We will always comply with our values and fundamental rights. But we will never compromise on protecting our borders.”
The new European Emergency Response Framework would be activated only under a strictly defined set of criteria and would allow “time-limited and strictly defined flexibility in standard procedures” in exceptional circumstances, she said.