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EU reaches "historic" agreement on reforming asylum laws

2023-12-20 21:52:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

EU reaches "historic" agreement on reforming asylum laws

European Union countries welcomed an asylum deal aimed at a more efficient mechanism to deal with undocumented migrants, but human rights groups criticized the changes as "dangerous" and "cruel".

The European Union agreed on Wednesday to a reform of its asylum legislation, which provides for more detention centers at borders and a faster deportation process.

Migrant rights organizations criticized the changes as "dangerous" and "cruel".

EU governments, officials and MEPs hailed the preliminary agreement on the bloc's new pact on asylum and migration as "historic", saying it improves procedures for the growing flow of undocumented migrants while ensuring respect for the rights of to man.

The legislative reform, achieved after long negotiations between EU member states and EU legislators, has not yet been officially approved by the European Council and the European Parliament.

This is expected to be done before June 2024, when EU elections will determine the next parliament. Nationalist parties with anti-immigrant views are expected to win more seats in parliament, which would reflect a tougher stance among EU voters facing a high cost of living.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the deal as "a fair and pragmatic approach to dealing with migration". Many EU countries, including France, Germany and the Netherlands, also welcomed the agreement. Italy's Matteo Piantedosi called it a "huge success", saying frontline countries like his "no longer feel alone".

But Hungary, which opposes being forced to take in irregular migrants or pay for countries that host them, strongly opposes the deal, its foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said.

The EU reform includes faster vetting of migrants, the creation of border detention centres, accelerated deportations for those denied asylum and a mechanism to help ease the pressure on the bloc's southern countries experiencing influxes. large incomes.

The reform package, based on a commission proposal presented three years ago, maintains the existing principle that the first EU country an asylum seeker enters is responsible for their case. But to help countries facing the influx of large numbers of migrants - such as the case of Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece and Malta - it envisages the establishment of a so-called solidarity mechanism, which would be mandatory.

This means that a certain number of migrants are relocated to other EU countries, or that countries that refuse to accept migrants offer a financial or material contribution to those who do so something that Budapest categorically opposes.

Criticism of human rights organizations

The reform also speeds up the process of vetting asylum seekers so that those deemed ineligible can be swiftly returned to their country of origin or transit.

This procedure, which envisages the establishment of border detention centers, would be applied to irregular migrants coming from countries whose citizens' requests for asylum are rejected in more than 80 percent of cases.

The MEPs said that families with young children will have suitable conditions, that respect for human rights will be guaranteed and free legal advice will be offered.

Another proposed point is a feedback mechanism, under which safeguards for asylum seekers could be limited to periods of significant flows, as happened in 2015-2016 when more than two million asylum seekers arrived in the EU, the majority from war-torn Syria .

Dozens of charities helping migrants including Amnesty International, Oxfam, Caritas and Save the Children have criticized the changes, saying in an open letter during negotiations that the package would create a "cruel system" that is unworkable.

Reacting to Wednesday's deal, Oxfam said the new package of laws is "in many ways... far worse" than the existing system.

"It is a dangerous reversal of key principles of human rights and refugee law," said Oxfam's migration expert Stephanie Pope.

Increase in the flow of income

Caritas said there is a risk that as a result of this reform there will be "rushed asylum procedures with limited safeguards and appeals, lack of access to legal and medical aid and deficiencies in the necessary care for vulnerable groups".

Amnesty International said it could result in increased suffering "at every step of a person's journey to seek asylum in the EU".

The EU is facing a growing number of migrants and asylum requests. In the first 11 months of this year, the EU's border agency Frontex has recorded more than 355,000 irregular crossings at the bloc's borders, an increase of 17 percent.

The number of asylum seekers this year may reach one million, according to the EU Agency for Asylum./ VOA





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