MADRID, October 6. /TASS/. The EU heads of states and government failed to reach an agreement on combating the migration crisis at an informal EU summit in Granada, Spain but European Council President Charles Michel issued a separate statement, a TASS correspondent reports.
"Migration is a European challenge that requires a European response. Illegal migration needs to be met head on with determination. We will not allow smugglers to decide who enters the EU. We will continue to effectively and swiftly implement all our decisions," he said.
According to Michel, the EU will "pursue a comprehensive approach to migration which combines increased external action, mutually beneficial comprehensive partnerships with countries of origin and transit, addressing the root causes of migration, opportunities for legal migration, more effective protection of EU external borders, resolutely fighting organized crime, human trafficking and smuggling, using migration as a hybrid threat, stepping up returns, and internal aspects, in compliance with international law, EU principles and values, and the protection of fundamental rights."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference following the informal summit that 3.7 mln legal migrants and 330,000 illegal migrants had arrived in the EU in 2022.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said after the EU summit that Warsaw had blocked a decision to settle illegal migrants across Europe. According to him, the Polish government, led by the Law and Justice party, is the only guarantee of curbing the wave of illegal migration that the EU wants to send throughout Europe.