The Prime Ministers of the V4 countries expressed their profound sadness over the loss of lives in the context of the current migration situation.

The V4 countries expressed their readiness to strengthen their engagement and assistance where necessary and to further contribute to the joint EU actions, namely by:

• enhancing bilateral assistance with particular focus on countries of transit and origin,

• providing experts and technical equipment for border protection, asylum procedures and relevant support actions, incl. migration management of the countries of the Western Balkans,

• examining the possibility of further increase of bilateral development assistance for countries of origin and transit for 2016/17,

• increasing financial, technical and expert participation at the EU CSDP mission against traffickers and smuggler networks,

• intensifying prosecution and fight against traffickers and smugglers at the national level as well as further intensification of police and intelligence cooperation,

• continuing the support to the international coalition fighting Da’esh in Iraq and Syria and providing various means of contribution (political, military and humanitarian) to the efforts of the coalition and to the stabilization of Iraq as tangible forms of tackling the root causes of the migration flows.

The V4 Prime Ministers reasserted that they will continue to fulfil their obligations, including the responsibility to protect the EU and Schengen Area external borders. A well-functioning external border and its effective management is a key prerequisite for a successful common EU response to migration challenges. The V4 Prime Ministers also stressed that they consider a frank and fair dialogue as the only possible method of finding common EU solutions. Unilateral actions or mutual accusations only further complicate the current situation. The V4 Prime Ministers stated clearly that they will support an open dialogue and present viable solutions. Their common objective is to prevent a situation whereby migration divides the EU and leads to misunderstanding. In this spirit the V4 countries are prepared to clearly explain their positions and priorities with the aim of reaching the necessary compromises.

The key elements of the EU common approach for the coming months should include especially:

• swift and full implementation of the European Council conclusions,

• appropriate focus on other dimensions of migration challenges (Western Balkans and the Eastern migration routes),

• effective control and protection of the EU external borders,

• fulfilment of legal obligations by all Member States and of responsibilities by EU institutions –implementation of the current asylum acquis, with particular focus on Dublin regulation, a functioning system of registration and effective return policy, including drafting a common list of safe third countries,

• preserving the voluntary nature of EU solidarity measures – so that each Member State may build on its experience, best practices and available resources; any proposal leading to introduction of mandatory and permanent quota for solidarity measures would be unacceptable,

• swift implementation of hotspots; setting up further hotspot-like structures in the most affected transit countries outside the EU along the Western Balkans route,

• strengthening the fight against organized crime and trafficking,

• intensified cooperation on the issue of irregular migration with the international community,

• more active contribution to solving the situation in Libya, Syria and the Middle East,

• long-term solutions of the situation – intensified cooperation with countries of origin and of transit, including a well-targeted and result-oriented increase in development assistance,

• operational readmission agreements with key countries.