The Belgian Minister of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal, Annelies Verlinden, said on Thursday at the Forum Europa in Brussels that "if we tackle the challenges" of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum reached in the European Union "people will not fall prey to those who rely on anger and hatred".
This was the view of Annelies Verlinden during a meeting organised by New Economy Forum in the EU capital in which she presented the conference given by the Vice-President of the European Commission for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas.
Ms. Verlinden praised Schinas' work as coordinator of the Commission's work on the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, “ensuring a balanced approach to migration that aligns the external and internal dimensions” of the phenomenon.
The Belgian Interior Minister emphasised that "the Pact is historic", as it has taken the EU institutions and Member States more than ten years to arrive at a common approach.
"Now it is about implementation" of the pact, she stressed. "If we meet the challenges, people will not fall prey to those who rely on anger and hatred and bring the poison of division into society, those who do everything to stir up fear", she remarked.
She also considered that the task of the Member States is to "counter the agents of fear with arguments and actions".
In this respect, she described Schinas' efforts as “fundamental” to develop channels for legal migration, to facilitate integration into labour markets and society, and to strengthen the European Security Union, which will make it possible to “adress hybrid threats comprehensively”, she said.
