It is almost three years to the day since Ursula von der Leyen gave her inaugural State of the Union address in Brussels. The newly elected President of the European Commission touched on many subjects on September 16, 2020, among which was the migrant crisis, ‘an issue that has been discussed long enough’.
It was time to move from words to actions, said von der Leyen: ‘If we are all ready to make compromises, without compromising on our principles, we can find that solution.’
Von der Leyen then explained that a ‘new pact on migration’ was to be unveiled the following week, one which ‘take action to fight smugglers, strengthen external borders, deepen external partnerships and create legal pathways.’
Yesterday in Strasbourg, von der Leyen gave this year’s State of the Union address. The ‘new pact’ that she had cited three years earlier still hasn’t seen the light of day, she admitted, but ‘an agreement on the pact has never been so close’.
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