The Council of the EU announced that, as part of its work under the French Presidency to "

These are four areas of reform, the council said in a communique.

It is planned to offer new tools to combat the use of migrant flows for illegitimate purposes, including political.

The reform should establish a new legal framework for measures at external borders in the event of health crises, building on lessons learned from the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Council of the EU intends to update the legal framework for internal border control in order to protect the principle of free movement in response to ongoing threats.

The common approach agreed by EU Member States to reform the Schengen Borders Code now allows the Council of the EU to start negotiations with the European Parliament as soon as the Parliament decides its own position, according to Brussels.