STOCKHOLM: EU interior ministers reached “consensus” Thursday to warn outside countries refusing to take back irregular migrants they risked tighter visa restrictions to Europe, Sweden’s migration minister said.

Ministers agreed that the tool, in place since 2020, “should be fully used” to boost the number of migrants returning to their home countries after their asylum applications failed, Maria Malmer Stenergard told journalists.

Sweden chaired the Stockholm meeting as it currently holds the EU presidency.

“Should intensified political and diplomatic efforts not produce the desired results, member states call on the (European) Commission to come back to the (European) Council with proposals on visa restrictions,” Malmer Stenergard said.

That tougher line was reflected in a letter Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen sent to leaders of EU countries on Thursday, ahead of a February 9-10 summit that will discuss the issue.

Von der Leyen said EU member states could sign up to a pilot scheme over the first half of this year to speed up screening and asylum procedures for eligible migrants — and “immediate return” for those not deemed to qualify.

She also said she wanted the EU to draw up a list of “safe countries of origin”, and for the bloc to strengthen border monitoring on the Mediterranean and Western Balkans routes migrants use to get to Europe.

The EU planned to put in place migration deals with countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Nigeria “to improve returns... and to prevent departures”, said Von der Leyen.