Clearly, immigration is at the heart of the news. The day after the adoption of a new law on the subject in France, the European Union reached an agreement on Wednesday morning after years of discussions and a night of final negotiations on the reform of the European migration system. The political agreement obtained will still have to be formally approved by the Council (Member States) and the European Parliament.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed this “historic agreement” on the Migration and Asylum Pact. The President of the European Parliament, Maltese Roberta Metsola, said she was “very proud”, believing that it was “probably the most important legislative agreement of this mandate”.
A compulsory solidarity system
This asylum and migration pact, presented by the European Commission in September 2020, consists of an overhaul of European rules, after the failure of a previous proposal in 2016 in the wake of the refugee crisis. It provides in particular for reinforced control of migrant arrivals in the EU, closed centers near the borders to return more quickly those not entitled to asylum, and a compulsory solidarity mechanism between member countries for the benefit of the States under migratory pressure.
The reform retains the rule currently in force according to which the first country of entry into the EU of an asylum seeker is responsible for his file, with some adjustments. But to help Mediterranean countries, where many exiles arrive, a compulsory solidarity system is organized in the event of migratory pressure. Other Member States must contribute by taking care of asylum seekers (relocations) or by providing financial support.
Detentions of minors planned
The reform also provides for “filtering” of migrants upon arrival and a “border procedure” for those who are statistically least likely to obtain asylum, who will be held in centers so that they can be returned more quickly to their home country. country of origin or transit. This procedure will apply to nationals of countries for which the rate of recognition of refugee status, on average in the EU, is less than 20%. The Council (Member States) insisted that even families with children under 12 should be affected by such a procedure, which involves detention in centers located near borders or airports for example.
The reform “fully respects our values,” said French MEP Fabienne Keller (Renew Europe, centrists and liberals). She specified that the European Parliament had obtained guarantees on a mechanism for monitoring fundamental rights in these border procedures, on the reception conditions of families with young children, on access to free legal advice for migrants. .
” Shame “
The reform, however, arouses criticism from human rights organizations. Around fifty of them were concerned that it would lead to “a poorly designed, costly and cruel system”. Caritas considered that it “limits access to asylum and the rights of those seeking protection”.
French MEP Damien Carême (Greens) denounced a pact “which shames the most beautiful values of Europe”. “We come out with a text which is worse than the current situation (…) We are going to finance walls, barbed wire, protection systems all over Europe,” he declared on X (formerly Twitter).