Interior ministers from six EU countries meet in Germany over migration policy

Interior ministers from six EU countries, including Czechia, are meeting on Friday on Germany’s highest mountain, Zugspitze, to discuss stricter asylum and migration policies. The meeting, hosted by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, includes ministers from France, Poland, Denmark, Austria, and Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan.

EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, is also attending. Ministers from the Benelux countries and Switzerland were not invited. The German interior ministry called the summit a first step toward EU asylum reform.

The aim is to agree on the “Zugspitze Declaration,” focusing on faster returns of migrants to third countries, tougher action against smugglers, stricter deportation procedures, and stronger external border controls, which are key parts of the EU’s revised asylum system due in mid-2025.