migration
EU wants to tighten course in asylum and migration policy
The EU wants to fight people smugglers with the strict course and achieve more border protection and faster deportations. photo
© Monika Skolimowska/dpa
Stricter migration laws are intended to prevent illegal entry and relieve the asylum systems. On the other hand, direct financing of fences and walls along the EU borders is being avoided.
Due to the sharp increase in unwanted migration, the European Union has agreed to tighten the common asylum and migration policy. At the EU summit, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his colleagues agreed on a final declaration aimed at preventing illegal entry from the outset or making it less attractive.
This should be done, among other things, by stepping up the fight against people smugglers, more border guards and faster deportations.
The EU financing of fences along the EU’s external borders, which countries like Austria demand, is not explicitly mentioned in the final declaration. The document only says that EU funds should be mobilized for “infrastructure” at the borders. In addition, two pilot projects are to be launched at the external borders. Countries such as Germany and Luxembourg, as well as the EU Commission, reject direct financing of fences or walls.
Asylum systems should be relieved
On the other hand, the EU states agree that more pressure should be put on countries that do not cooperate in taking back rejected asylum seekers. This should lead to more people without a right to stay leaving the EU, thereby relieving the sometimes heavily overburdened asylum systems.
The EU states want to exert pressure, for example, with a tightened visa policy, trade policy and development aid, but at the same time opportunities for legal migration should also be created.
The number of asylum applications in 2022 rose by almost 50 percent to 924,000 compared to the previous year. In addition, there were around 4 million refugees from Ukraine who do not have to apply for asylum in the EU.