Migration bursts back on EU stage — thanks to Scholz

What’s driving the day in Brussels.
By NICHOLAS VINOCUR
with ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH
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GOOD TUESDAY MORNING. This is Nick Vinocur with your daily dose of Brussels politics. Start your day with this cheery read by my colleagues Barbara Moens and Jacopo Barigazzi about Ursula von der Leyen’s second term from hell. I’ll be back with you again for Wednesday’s Playbook.
MACRON CLAPS BACK: With Telegram CEO Pavel Durov still languishing in a French jail cell, President Emmanuel Macron waded into the online uproar with an English-language tweet saying, in a nutshell — wasn’t me.
Le tweet: “The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to judges to rule on the matter,” wrote le président.
Fun fact: Macron is an avid Telegram-er himself, using it since the early days of his first presidential campaign, report my colleagues Victor Goury-Laffont, Océane Herrero, Sarah Paillou and Elisa Braun in this essential feature on France’s love-hate relationship with the app. And while security officials have tried to crack down on its use due to confidentiality concerns, Telegram is still popular among Cabinet members and political officials of all ranks and parties — particularly within pro-Macron circles.
Catch up: Durov had his stay in a French jail extended following his Saturday arrest over allegations of illegal activity on the platform, such as drug trafficking and violent extremism, which he is accused of doing too little to monitor.
Details: The Paris public prosecutor’s office said in a statement Monday that Durov was detained as part of an investigation opened by France’s anti-cybercrime task force on July 8. Per the statement, the judicial investigation is examining a dozen charges against an unnamed individual that include refusing to provide authorities with information required by law and complicity in fraud, dissemination of pornographic images of minors and the sale of narcotics.
Serious business: Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Durov could remain in custody until Wednesday, per “applicable procedure for organized crime offences” that allow suspects to be held for up to 96 hours.
Durov-gate: More than two days since French police plucked Durov off an airfield near Paris, the uproar over his arrest hasn’t subsided. Telegram was the top trending topic on Belgian X as of Tuesday afternoon, and everyone from Elon Musk to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and various Silicon Valley podcast bros have come out in support of Durov and “free speech.”
NOW READ THIS: Who is Durov? Russia’s most prominent tech billionaire “combines the nerdy reclusiveness of Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg … with the contrarian eccentricity and narcissism of Elon Musk,” writes my ace colleague Eva Hartog in this must-read profile of the man who’s suddenly been elevated to the status of patron saint of free speech.
A date with Putin? Eva, who worked in Russia for years before coming to Brussels, details Durov’s tricky relationship with the Kremlin, which essentially chased him out of the country and forced him to give up his first successful platform VKontakte — only for Durov to get his revenge by founding Telegram from Dubai. But Eva also points to the curious timing of Durov’s trip to Azerbaijan, which came directly before he traveled to Paris and coincided with a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the country. Read the whole thing here — it’s well worth your time.
And while you’re at it … Read about how Durov’s detention is causing panic among Russia’s military bloggers and pundits who call Telegram home, by Veronika Melkozerova.
EU angle: Pieter Haeck explains why Telegram is a bigger headache than X for the EU.
MEANWHILE, IN META WORLD: Mark Zuckerberg said he regrets that Meta bowed to Biden administration pressure to censor certain posts about Covid-19, including humor and satire, saying in a letter that the interference was “wrong” and he plans to push back if it happens again.
GERMAN LEADER’S TONE SHIFTS AFTER STABBING ATTACK: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz put migration policy squarely back onto the agenda with a call for a “task force” of select EU countries to examine the application of asylum rules, adding cryptically that “some things will have to be changed in European law.”
Context: Scholz made these hawkish-sounding comments in the wake of a stabbing attack allegedly involving a Syrian asylum-seeker that has shaken Germany ahead of three state elections in which the far-right AfD is expected to put on a powerful showing. 
AfD surge: Three people were killed in the attack in the Western city of Solingen on Friday, prompting Scholz to promise he would step up deportations and toughen knife laws. But that is unlikely to quell a fierce immigration debate, with AfD politicians — who are leading or close to leading polls in all three states — accusing Berlin of being “complicit” in the violence. My Berlin-based colleague Nette Nöstlinger has the full story about the political ramifications.
Changing his tune: Scholz’s vow to step up deportations, or “returns” as they’re known in EU-speak, marks an abrupt tone shift from that of a social democratic leader who hadn’t joined calls from other EU states for tougher application of asylum laws. It comes as his center-left party is slated to take a beating in the state elections, and ahead of a national ballot next year in which Scholz may be voted out of power and replaced by the conservative Friedrich Merz.
It’s baaaaack: But while Scholz’s late conversion is unlikely to hold back the AfD tide in any of the three states where elections are being held in September, it does suggest migration is about to come roaring back onto the center stage of EU policy in coming weeks and months.
United … against migration: Italy’s conservative government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has long been on the warpath. France is pushing for tougher measures following a knife attack against children allegedly carried out by a Syrian refugee in the town of Annecy in June 2023. The Dutch government, backed by anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders, is pushing to declare a legal “asylum crisis” that would allow the government to implement a harsher and more restrictive system for asylum seekers. Denmark has pursued some of the toughest immigration policies in Europe over recent years. And that’s just a sample.
Never too late: Now Berlin, which has been a moderating force, may be joining the hawks. “What happened in Germany this weekend creates new impetus to discuss migration,” an EU diplomat told Playbook during their evening supermarket run. “Incidents like this will happen. We’ve seen it in Germany. We’ve seen it in France. The Meloni government is pushing hard on this. So is the Netherlands, where migration is one of the major issues for the new coalition.”
More tools, please: While the EU signed off on a historic reform of rules known as the Migration Pact in June, that new rulebook won’t fully come into force for another two years. In the meantime, a group of EU countries has been clamoring for “tools and measures” to act more forcefully against irregular and so-called instrumentalized migration — meaning when third countries deliberately send migrants into Europe to destabilize them.
VDL’s inbox: Indeed, fifteen countries zeroed in on returns as a priority to enforce more systematic deportations in a letter to Brussels. This prompted Ursula von der Leyen, who’s set to start her second term as European Commission president later this year, to vow to “put forward a new common approach on returns, with a new legislative framework to speed up and simplify the process” as part of the political guidelines for her next mandate, published in July, my colleague Max Griera points out.
Going Danish: Meanwhile Denmark — which has opted out of the EU’s police and justice rules and is known for its harsh migration stance — is leading a task force of 19 countries looking into various aspects of EU migration policy, and will submit proposals to the Commission in coming months, according to two EU diplomats.
Where is this taking us? An EU diplomat who spoke to Playbook said that despite calls from the new Dutch coalition to reopen the Migration Pact, that isn’t likely to happen. A German diplomat, quizzed about Scholz’s comments, said there wasn’t much to add and that they addressed the “specific” matter of the Solingen attacker’s asylum status.
Instead, the EU diplomat said migration was set to occupy ambassadors during their Coreper meetings and would probably give rise to calls between EU leaders. Will Scholz’s change of tone translate into a bubbling up at the political level in the coming weeks? “It’s too early to tell, but there’s no doubt migration is going to be on the agenda,” the EU diplomat said.
“Pure politics”: That said, not everyone is convinced the calls for fire and brimstone on migration are warranted. Per Sophie in ‘t Veld, a Dutch former MEP who dealt with migration issues, “the whole returns issue is purely political. They [the member countries] have all the rules they need. We already have harsh policies in place. They are there to implement if they want to.”
Bottom line: Europe is nowhere near done grappling with irregular migration. And as right-wing and conservative forces keep surging in elections — as they are expected to in Germany next month — expect the issue to dog von der Leyen’s second term in the Berlaymont at least as much as her first.
**Unravel the European pursuit of defense autonomy, balancing NATO ties and navigating the uncertain waters of the U.S. security umbrella at POLITICO Competitive Europe Week grand finale on the afternoon of October 3 in Brussels! Apply for your Defense pass today!**
DESPERATELY SEEKING A LEGACY: Just when you thought you’d heard the last of him, outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has drafted his own proposal for a directive “on the protection of agricultural activities.” It appears to be the Polish farm chief’s last attempt at leaving an enduring political legacy by staking out his ideological positions: less environmental regulation and more protection for farmers. Alessandro Ford and Eddy Wax have the scoop.
PATRIOTS TAKE MORE OF ID’S IDENTITY: After absorbing the majority of members of the now defunct Identity and Democracy, Patriots for Europe will take over ID’s Paris headquarters on Boulevard Haussmann, according to the party statutes published at the beginning of August, which the Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations is still verifying. The Brussels representation will be located in Square de Meeûs.
Le Pen takeover: According to the still-under-construction Patriots.eu website, three of the party’s six bureau members are from France’s National Rally: Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella and Catherine Griset. Portugal’s Chega, Geert Wilders’ PVV and Estonia’s EKRE do not so far have representation in the party leadership despite being full members.
MACRON REJECTS LEFT-WING COALITION: France is no closer to having a government after Macron on Monday refused to accept the election-winning left’s candidate for prime minister, arguing that doing so would lead to instability. As the left digs in, Macron is floating a possible alliance with centrist and center-right forces — read Victor Goury-Laffont’s take here.
UKRAINE’S STRUGGLE TO KEEP THE LIGHTS ON: Kyiv will push forward with controversial plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on aging Russian-made nuclear reactors despite growing opposition from lawmakers, the country’s energy minister told my colleague Gabriel Gavin, amid warnings of a major power crisis this winter.
TRUMP VS. THE HOT MIC: Donald Trump could pull out of a planned Sept. 10 debate with his opponent in the U.S. presidential election Kamala Harris, my U.S. colleague Eugene Daniels reports. The reason: a dispute over whether the candidates’ microphones will be muted when they’re not speaking. Harris wants the microphones to remain on the entire time, while Trump’s team doesn’t.
— Věra Jourová in Prague, Czechia; speaks at the panel discussion at the meeting of Czech ambassadors; meets with Mikuláš Bek, minister for education.
WEATHER: High of 25C, sunny.
CONGRATULATIONS! POLITICO’s Barbara Moens married long-time partner Frederik last Saturday in the Flemish countryside, watched on by their ultra-cute toddlers Oscar and Olivia, dressed up in white. Huge congratulations!
SPOTTED: Euractiv reporter Thomas Moller-Nielsen, squinting in the background of Kaja Kallas’ photo announcing her arrival in Brussels.
CLASSICAL CONCERT: This week is the first-ever Cameristica Festival, with four different chamber music concerts from Thursday to Sunday. Info and tickets here. 
BIRTHDAYS: Former Austrian Chancellor and POLITICO 28 alum Sebastian Kurz; former MEPs Jane Brophy, Thomas Händel and Dario Tamburrano; France Culture’s Nora Hamadi.
THANKS TO: Antonia Zimmermann, Max Griera, Playbook editor Alex Spence, Playbook reporter Šejla Ahmatović and producer Dean Southwell.
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