The representatives of the European Parliament adopted the Migration Pact, a package of 10 legislative acts reforming the European migration policy and asylum policy, at the plenary session in Brussels on Wednesday.
This legislative package has yet to be confirmed by the Council of the EU, which is expected at the end of this month, and will enter into force after its publication in the Official Gazette. The approved regulations should be implemented in two years. Member states also have two years to introduce amendments to the directive on acceptance conditions into their national legislation, Hina reported.
The complete reform of migration and asylum management, with new rules, should introduce more order in dealing with this problem that has plagued the EU since 2015. The reform is based on the Commission’s proposals from 2020, after the previous proposal published in the wake of the major migrant crisis in 2015 and 2016 failed.
The voted package is a pragmatic compromise since no one is completely satisfied with it. For the extreme right, it is not restrictive enough for the entry of migrants and the asylum policy, and for the majority of representatives of the Greens and the extreme left, the package is too strict and they believe that it violates the rights of migrants.
One of the goals of the reform is for the new rules to be a means of dissuading persons who do not meet the conditions for international protection from traveling. The European Union wants it to decide who can enter, not for people smugglers to decide.
Representatives of the largest political groups in the European Parliament point out that this kind of compromise is better than the current solutions that do not work at all.
The fight against the instrumentalization of migrants
Before the vote, Vice President of the Commission Margaritis Schinas, urging the representatives to support the pact, said that “the pursuit of perfection is the biggest enemy of progress”.
The Pact on Migration and Asylum should help EU countries that are exposed to migratory pressure, so that other member states will relocate asylum seekers or persons enjoying international protection to their national territory or, if they do not want to, make a financial contribution or provide operational and technical support.
The Decree on Crisis Situations and Situations Caused by Force Majeure establishes a mechanism to respond to a sudden increase in the number of arrivals. It ensures solidarity and support for member states facing an exceptionally large influx of third-country nationals. The new rules also cover the instrumentalization of migrants. These are cases where third countries or hostile actors use migrants to destabilize the EU.
The new rules provide that people who do not meet the requirements for entry into the EU will be subject to a thorough screening process including identification, biometric data collection and health and safety checks within a maximum of seven days. Member States will have to establish independent monitoring mechanisms to ensure respect for fundamental rights.
Joint procedure for recognition of international protection
A common procedure for the recognition and withdrawal of international protection is established throughout the European Union. The processing of asylum applications at EU borders will have to be faster in the future and the deadlines for unfounded or inadmissible applications will be shorter.
Data on people arriving illegally in the EU, including fingerprints and facial images of people aged six and over, will be stored in the reformed Eurodac database. Authorities will also be able to determine whether a person poses a security threat and whether they were violent or armed.
The Parliament also supported new uniform standards for all member states related to the recognition of the status of a refugee or a person granted subsidiary protection and regarding the rights granted to persons eligible for protection. Member States should assess the situation in the country of origin on the basis of information received from the EU Asylum Agency, and the status of refugees will be regularly reviewed. Applicants for protection will have to remain in the territory of the Member State responsible for their application or the one in which protection is granted.
Member states will have to ensure equal acceptance standards for asylum seekers when it comes to, for example, housing, education and health care. Registered asylum seekers will be able to start working no later than six months after submitting their application. Detention conditions and restrictions on freedom of movement will be regulated in order to deter asylum seekers from moving within the European Union.
In accordance with the new framework for resettlement and humanitarian reception, member states will voluntarily offer reception to refugees from third countries recognized by UNHCR, who would arrive in the EU in a legal, organized and safe manner.
