The Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) meets on a regular basis to address matters related to the European Agenda on Migration. The Agenda covers, amongst other things, immediate action to save lives at sea, to tackle criminal smuggling and trafficking networks and to support frontline Member States at the EU’s external borders to manage the inflow of large numbers of migrants. The Hotspot approach, which will be the main subject of the meeting on 5 and 6 May, is the main operational measure of the European Agenda on Migration aimed at managing exceptional migratory flows.
The chairpersons of the committees for European affairs of the national parliaments will discuss the operational support provided by the Hotspot approach, and discuss in particular the registration, fingerprinting and debriefing of asylum seekers. Furthermore, meetings are also set to take place with members of local authorities, representatives from European agencies charged with implementing the Hotspot approach and representatives from NGOs. The EFTA/EU Delegation will be represented at the meeting by its president, National Council member Thomas Aeschi (SVP/ZG).