Belgium’s Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, travelled to Munich on 26 September 2026 for an informal “Munich Migration Meeting” with interior- and migration-ministers from 18 EU and Schengen countries. In her opening statement, the Flemish minister urged partners to “draw a line under ad-hoc crisis management” and move swiftly toward tougher external-border screening, an expanded operational mandate for the EU border agency Frontex, and a results-driven return policy for irregular migrants. Van Bossuyt argued that Europe’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) provides the technological backbone for tighter controls, but only if member states supply sufficient personnel and if Frontex is allowed to coordinate joint return operations. She called on ministers to double the agency’s return budget for 2027 and to conclude more readmission agreements with African and Middle-Eastern states, citing Belgium’s recent deal with Morocco as a model. The Belgian delegation also pushed for a “swift but fair” asylum border procedure. Under the Belgian proposal, applicants whose claims are deemed unfounded or inadmissible would remain in secure facilities at the external border for a maximum of 12 weeks, after which Frontex‐assisted returns would be organised. Business groups in Belgium welcomed the call for predictable rules, noting that prolonged pressure on reception centres diverts resources that could otherwise speed up work-permit processing for skilled migrants. NGOs immediately criticised the plan as risking detention-like conditions and questioned whether third countries would cooperate on large-scale returns. Van Bossuyt replied that without credible returns, public support for legal labour migration would erode. She emphasised that Belgium would continue to admit high-skilled workers and students but “within a system that can say ‘yes’ faster to those we need and ‘no’ faster to those who have no right to stay.” Although no formal conclusions were adopted in Munich, several participants signalled support for Belgium’s initiative. The file will now move to the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels in October, where the Belgian presidency in the first half of 2027 could give the proposal further momentum.
Source: The Brussels Times
