The legislative package for the reform of the European migration and asylum policy, which provides for the strengthening of controls at the EU’s borders and a mandatory solidarity mechanism, will be put to a vote in the Plenary of the European Parliament tomorrow, Wednesday (10/4).
Following the provisional agreement reached at the end of December between the European Parliament and the Council, the new Pact on Migration and Asylum must be formally approved tomorrow by the European Parliament and then by the Council before it becomes law.
The reform is based on the proposal presented by the European Commission in September 2020. The EU has been seeking to reform and improve immigration and asylum procedures since the 2015 crisis. For several years, member states have failed to find common ground, resulting in countries of first entry, such as Greece and Italy, bear the brunt. It is perhaps the “most important legislative package of this legislative period”, the President of the EP, Roberta Metzola, has admitted.
The new EU migration policy legislation sets out how to jointly manage asylum and migration between member states and deal with migration crises. The new rules regulate how people arriving at the EU’s external borders are treated, the processing of asylum claims and the identification of those arriving.
The new regulation provides for mandatory solidarity for EU countries under migratory pressure, allowing other member states to choose between relocating asylum seekers to their territory and contributing financially. New criteria are also defined according to which a Member State is responsible for examining applications for international protection (formerly the Dublin rules).
The rapporteur for the regulation on the asylum procedure, French Liberal MEP Fabian Keller, in a press conference she gave today, together with the other rapporteurs of the legislative texts, said that although this Pact may not solve all immigration issues of the EU overnight, is an unprecedented political achievement that significantly improves the current system.
The rapporteur of the EPP, for the management of asylum, the Spanish MEP Tomás Tobe, stated that the new rules provide a binding mechanism for all member states that free us from the “ad-hoc solutions” we have today. Addressing the MEPs who are thinking of voting against, he wondered what they would achieve by maintaining the current situation.
For her part, the rapporteur for the reception standards for asylum seekers, the Dutch Liberal MEP Sophie Inette Velt, emphasized that she will support the legislative package because, as she said, “we have an obligation to European citizens to show that Europe provides solutions”. He noted, however, that there are justified doubts and concerns linked to certain aspects of the reform and stressed that everything will depend on their implementation by the governments of the member states.
The legislative package on immigration and asylum reform is generally supported by the three main political groups in the European Parliament, namely the European People’s Party, the Socialists and the Liberals, while the majority of the Far Right and the Greens oppose it. of the Left as well as some Socialists.
Even if the new Migration and Asylum Pact is approved by the EP tomorrow, the details of its implementation have not yet been determined, such as the organization of border detention centers for asylum seekers who are less likely to receive a positive response and will be processed expedited examination until their return. The idea of safe third countries to which irregular migrants will return also remains unclear.
The EU has seen an increase in asylum applications in recent years, reaching 1.14 million in 2023, the highest level since 2016, according to the European Asylum Organization, while the entry of irregular migrants increased to 380,000 in 2023, according to Frontex.
Source: RES-MPE
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