Why two of the EU’s biggest political headaches aren’t going away any time soon

European leaders came together to pick through the thorny issues of migration and how quickly Ukraine should be welcomed into the EU, writes Chris Stevenson. But divisions between nations mean progress will be hard won

EU leaders pose for a photo during the informal summit, in Granada, Spain (Juan Medina/Reuters)

A summit in Granada was supposed to be a chance for Europe to gain some clarity about two major issues – how to tackle migration and what to do about welcoming war-ravaged Ukraine and other nations into the EU.

On Thursday, the European Political Community (EPC) met, with 44 heads of state or government coming together from across the continent. It included the EU member states as well as countries like the UK and Ukraine. Migration was a key issue, with EU nations split between those who want initiatives focused on distributing those who arrive into the bloc between all members in a joint act of solidarity and those nations who see such migration as a threat.

In a sign of the splits in the EU, Italy reached outside the bloc, with prime minister Giorgia Meloni joining forces with the UK’s Rishi Sunak to issue a call for their European partners to show the “same sense of urgency” in tackling illegal migration. Meloni’s far-right government has taken a hardline stance against the thousands of people reaching Italy by boat across the Mediterranean this year, which Sunak’s government has taken a similar stance about boats crossing the channel, although the numbers are smaller. The pair held a meeting on the sidelines of the EPC with a number of other nations about the issue, with it not having been placed on the main agenda.

On Friday, Hungary’s far-right leader Viktor Orban took up the mantle ahead of an informal meeting of just the EU leaders – viciously complaining about any push to create a shared position on migration. He went as far as to compare the situation to being “legally raped” by Hungary's fellow EU members.

“The agreement on migration, politically, it's impossible – not today [or] generally speaking for the next years,” Orban said. “Because legally we are, how to say it – we are raped. So if you are raped legally, forced to accept something that you don't like, how would you like to have a compromise?”

The dispute is over an agreement struck on Wednesday that, if it becomes policy, would involve setting up processing centres on the EU’s outside borders to screen people as they arrived. The deal, agreed by a majority of the EU’s interior ministers, will now go to the European parliament, where further negotiations will take place before it can become binding.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has also repeatedly complained, maintaining his government’s position that it keeps migrants out for security reasons. Both Poland and Hungary flatly refuse any shared responsibility for migrants arriving to other member states.

Indeed, Morawiecki said he had rejected the idea of a joint statement issued at the end of the summit containing a mention of migration. “As a responsible politician, I reject the whole paragraph of summit conclusions regarding migration,” Morawiecki wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

EU chiefs have sought to remain upbeat about the issue and European council president Charles Michel issued a separate statement on migration which called it a “European challenge that requires a European response” and a “comprehensive approach”.

European parliament president Roberta Metsola said she was still hopeful over a deal coming into force. “I remain optimistic because what had kept us behind in the past was that there was no political will,” Metsolas said. “There is no silver bullet, but let's not kill this pact before we adopt it. We owe it to ourselves and to our citizens.”

From January to October, some 194,000 migrants and refugees reached Spain, Italy, Malta, Greece and Cyprus by boat, compared to 112,000 in the same period last year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. Spain’s marine rescue service reported Friday it had intercepted another 500 migrants in six boats approaching the Canary Islands located off the northwest coast of Africa. Previously this week, the archipelago’s tiny El Hierro island took in 1,200 migrants arriving in open wooden boats that are believed to have departed from Senegal.

Orban, ever one to try and throw a spanner in the EU works, has also been quick to do down the idea that Ukraine, and other nations further down the line, would be welcomed into the bloc quickly. “We have never done an enlargement to the country which is in a war. And we don’t know where are the effective borders, how many people are living there,” Orban said. “Sorry, it’s painful to get these countries in the EU.”

Many nations, including a significant number in the EU, sought to reiterate their support for Ukraine as president Volodymyr Zelensky took part in the EPC gathering. EU leaders will have to decide whether to officially open talks with Ukraine in December but Orban said the bloc was still unprepared for such a move. Michel spoke about 2030 as a membership target to try and focus minds, but the difficulty is that some states want to accelerate the process, while leaders like Orban want to slow it to a crawl.

Beyond that, there is still plenty that the EU and Kyiv has to do to make accession work. EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen has stressed that “accession is merit-based” and that there are no shortcuts. Nations like Ukraine need to align their laws and institutions adequately with those in the EU – while the bloc also needs to “do its own homework” to be ready to welcome new members.

The joint Granada declaration at the end of the summit – without any language about migration – made this clear: “Enlargement is a geo-strategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity. It is a driver for improving the economic and social conditions of European citizens, reducing disparities between countries, and must foster the values on which the Union is founded. Looking ahead to the prospect of a further enlarged Union, both the EU and future member states need to be ready.”

So, plenty of talk about moving forward – but two of the EU’s biggest political headaches are not going away.