MADRID (Sputnik) — The European Union should establish an honest and frank dialogue with Russia, former French president Nicolas Sarkozy said Thursday.
"We need to talk to Russia. It is necessary to establish a frank, honest and strategic dialogue," Sarkozy said at the congress of the European People's Party (EPP), currently taking place in Madrid.
Sarkozy’s speech was devoted to the need to develop a common migration policy.
According to the former French president, Europe has never faced such a severe challenge as the current refugee crisis. That is why it is necessary to develop a migration policy relevant for all 28 EU member states.
Over 710,000 migrants arrived in the European Union during the first nine months of 2015, the EU external border protection agency Frontex said earlier in October.