questions and answers
Tougher rules? EU Parliament votes on asylum reform
SOS Mediteranee rescue personnel help migrants evacuate an inflatable boat (archive image). The planned asylum reform provides for uniform border procedures at the external borders.
© Johanna de Tessieres / SOS Mediteranee / AP / DPA
The EU Parliament could pave the way for stricter rules in asylum law. What does this mean for migration to Germany?
There has been a debate about European asylum law for years – now it’s about to happen EU Parliament vote on reform. In particular, there are plans to deal much more harshly with people from countries that are considered relatively safe. Answers to important questions.
Why should asylum policy in the EU be reformed?
Intensive work has been underway on a reform since 2015 and 2016. At that time, countries in southern Europe such as Greece were overwhelmed by the large number of people arriving from countries such as Syria. Hundreds of thousands came to other EU countries unregistered.
This actually shouldn’t have happened because, according to the so-called Dublin Regulation, asylum seekers should be registered where they first entered the European Union.
How should things work in the future when refugees arrive?
The reform provides for uniform border procedures at the external borders. In particular, there are plans to deal much more harshly with people from countries that are considered relatively safe. Until a decision on the asylum application is made, people should be able to be accommodated in detention camps under prison-like conditions for up to twelve weeks.
People who come from a country with a recognition rate of less than 20 percent, as well as those who are considered a threat to public safety, will in future have to go through such a border procedure. According to the plan, arriving people can be registered with fingerprints and photos, also to check whether they pose a threat to public safety.
What happens when a particularly large number of asylum seekers arrive?
If there is a particularly strong increase in migration, the standard asylum procedures could be deviated from using the so-called crisis regulation. For example, the period during which people can be held in prison-like conditions can be extended. In addition, the circle of those eligible for the planned strict border procedures could be expanded. This would then apply to people from countries of origin with a recognition rate of a maximum of 50 percent.
Are families with children exempt from border procedures?
No, even though the federal government had called for families with children to be exempt from border procedures for humanitarian reasons. However, this central aim failed. Only unaccompanied minor refugees are an exception. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) regretted this and said that when implementing the new asylum system, greater care must now be taken to ensure that “it is fair, orderly and solidarity-based”.
How will the refugees then be distributed?
According to the plans, the distribution of those seeking protection among the EU states will be reorganized using a “solidarity mechanism”: If the countries do not want to accept refugees, they must provide support, for example in the form of monetary payments.
When should the asylum reform apply?
The agreement still needs to be confirmed by the EU states. This is usually a formality. The member states have reportedly agreed on a two-year implementation period. This should give the states at the external borders enough time to create appropriate facilities to accommodate people from states with a recognition rate of less than 20 percent.
EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson assured that the member states were trying to move quickly. “Some of the member states have already more or less started implementing it.”
What does that mean for Germany now?
The situation in Germany will not change in the short term. It will be years before the now politically agreed regulations are put into practice. The analysis of the specific need for adjustment in Germany has not yet been completed, said a spokesman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior when asked.
This involves legal, practical, technical and other adjustments. According to the Interior Ministry, the legal adjustments are likely to affect the Asylum Act and the Residence Act, but are also partly the responsibility of other departments and the states. Discussions with the other affected federal departments and the states are planned.
Could the reform reduce the number of refugees in Germany?
Yes, because some of those seeking protection will then be sent back directly from the external borders, and the stricter rules could have a deterrent effect. In addition to the negotiators, the CDU and CSU as well as states and municipalities are hoping for this. But whether this will be the case remains controversial.
Meanwhile, the German Association of Cities continues to push for immediate support in accommodating the refugees. “The regulation is to be applied by the member states from 2026. But they have to start preparing and implementing it in a few months. This could then have an impact on the migration numbers, but there will not be any significant effects overnight,” said Managing Director Helmut Dedy of the German Press Agency. “The federal and state governments therefore remain obliged to consistently implement the measures decided in Germany to finance refugees and to better manage migration. The cities urgently need to be relieved.”
Is reform definitely coming?
The vote on the individual regulations that ultimately form the reform is actually considered a formality in Parliament, as negotiators from the member states and Parliament negotiated the compromise in December. However, many MPs are dissatisfied with it. According to EU MP and Green Party migration expert Erik Marquardt, the European Greens do not want to agree to all regulations. They are mostly simple solutions on paper that would not limit migration to Europe, he said on Deutschlandfunk.
This would mean that the European Greens would be opposing the federal party, which had supported the asylum compromise – albeit painfully. If only individual regulations of the reform receive approval in Parliament, it is questionable whether the EU states will then only formally agree to those parts of the reform.