Faster procedures, easier deportations and reception centers that resemble detention centers: After years of dispute, the EU Parliament is waving through a change in migration policy. But it will take some time before the new harshness takes effect.
The European Union is adopting new rules for dealing with migrants. On Wednesday afternoon, the majority of members of the EU Parliament voted in favor of a comprehensive reform of the Common European Asylum System. It is intended to guide migration flows in an orderly manner, relieve pressure on states at their external borders and increase the number of deportations. All ten legal texts that are part of this reform package found a majority in the plenary session of the Brussels Parliament. This means that the only thing standing in the way of the asylum and migration pact is a vote by the member states at the end of April, which in this case is considered a formality.