Hungary and Poland thwart joint EU declaration on migration

An informal European Union summit convened in Granada, Spain, took an unexpected turn when the Prime Ministers of Hungary and Poland blocked a joint EU declaration on migration. The two leaders compelled delegates to omit a passage regarding member countries' views on migration from the carefully crafted declaration that had been in the works for weeks.

The final declaration issued after the summit notably lacked any mention of migration, an omission that stood out given recent developments on the Italian island of Lampedusa. This is not the first instance in which Prime Ministers Viktor Orbán and Mateusz Morawiecki have collaborated to disrupt a European Council communiqué, having done so in late June as well.
Both incidents revolved around the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, a comprehensive overhaul of the EU's migration policy that introduces a system of "mandatory solidarity" to ensure all 27 member states contribute to managing and receiving asylum seekers. The New Pact, still under negotiation, received a significant boost when the EU Council reached a consensus on the Crisis Regulation.
The legislation was approved by a qualified majority, as stipulated in EU treaties, making it impervious to vetoes from Poland or Hungary.

Strong opposition
At the conclusion of the EU summit, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who faces parliamentary elections on October 15, acknowledged his firm stance in a social media post, stating, "I expressed our position very strongly in the plenary and decided to veto the part of the bill that concerned migration."
Hungary's Viktor Orbán was equally resolute, contending that after being "pushed" to sign off on an EU migration reform plan earlier in the week, there was no room for compromise in Granada. Orbán expressed strong opposition to the migration reform, declaring it was “impossible" to reach an agreement when one feels "legally, forced to accept something you don't like."
“After this, there is no chance to have any kind of compromise and agreement on migration … because legally we are raped. If you are raped, legally, forced to accept something you don’t like, how would you like to have a compromise and an agreement? It’s impossible,” Orbán said.
Finding solutions to reduce the influx of refugees and unauthorized migrants into Europe continues to be a central issue for the bloc, particularly in the lead-up to next year's European elections, amid the backdrop of growing populism that often fans the flames of anti-immigrant sentiments.

Consensus on enlargement
Despite the migration dispute, EU leaders successfully reached consensus on the remainder of the declaration, which included a reference to EU enlargement. The statement underlined that "enlargement is a geostrategic investment in peace, security, and prosperity" but omitted specific mentions of countries like Ukraine seeking EU membership. The summit also delved into discussions on strategic autonomy, enlargement, and necessary reforms for potential joiners like Ukraine and Moldova, with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen advocating for enlargement as a mutually beneficial endeavor for both aspiring members and the EU at large.