The Danish Minister for Migration Kaare Dybvad Bek (S) strikes a positive tone ahead of the meeting. Three years ago, when he took office, it was an uphill struggle for Danish "innovative" proposals to tighten migration policy. Now the situation is different, he thinks.
We can see how several countries have changed position, either because they have changed their opinion or because they have got a new government, says Kaare Dybvad Beck.
German weight
He mentions in particular Germany, the EU's largest country, which under the leadership of its new Chancellor Friedrich Merz has swung 180 degrees from Angela Merkel's generous refugee policy. Now "Wir schaffen das" (we can do it) is no longer heard from the German government.
It is crucial that the German government has put its weight behind a change, he says.
Last Friday, a hard core of EU countries met on Germany's highest mountain peak Zugspitze. Among those attending the meeting were, among others, Italy, Denmark, and France, but also the responsible EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner. They discussed, among other things, how the EU could outsource the asylum process to countries outside the EU, i.e., that asylum applications would be processed there.
It is still a long way to go. But the proposal now being discussed is return hubs, where asylum seekers who have been rejected can be sent while waiting to be sent back to their home countries. It is a proposal that the Swedish government also wants to try.
Forssell at home
Migration Minister Johan Forssell (The Moderate Party) is not attending the meeting in Copenhagen, but is instead letting his State Secretary represent Sweden.
According to the Danish minister, it is now more and more countries that are backing return centers outside the EU.
There are, of course, different opinions, but a majority of us now support innovative solutions, says Kaare Dybvad Bek.
We have a situation where half of the people seeking asylum in Europe are rejected. But only one in four is sent back to their country of origin.
The meeting in Copenhagen will not make any decisions, but is intended for the ministers to discuss current issues in an informal way.
