The European Parliament and member states reached a political agreement this Wednesday on a major reform of the European Union’s (EU) asylum and migration policy, after a final night of negotiations, the EU Council announced.
“The Spanish Presidency of the Council and the European Parliament have agreed on the key political elements of five fundamental regulations that will profoundly reformulate the EU legal framework on asylum and migration,” the structure bringing together member states announced in a statement. .
The approval comes after several hours of overnight negotiations among the community’s co-legislators, with a first round continuing on Monday, in a debate blocked mainly by France, which wanted security guarantees in the new rules, European sources indicated.
This reform, which includes a series of texts, provides in particular: strengthened controls on the arrival of migrants in the EU, closed centers close to the borders to return more quickly those who are not entitled to asylum and a mandatory solidarity mechanism for states under migratory pressure.
Specific, Five laws were agreed between EU co-legislators regarding all stages of asylum and migration management, fromscreening of irregular migrants upon arrival in the EU, the collection of biometric data, the procedures for submitting and examining asylum applications, the rules for determining which Member State is responsible for examining an asylum application and cooperation and solidarity between countries and how to do this to deal with crisis situations, including cases of instrumentalization of migrants.
“The new rules, once adopted, will make the European asylum system more effective and increase solidarity between Member States, making it possible to reduce the burden on countries where more migrants arrive,” the EU Council said in the note.
Von der Leyen says the EU has obtained the necessary instruments
‘The pact will ensure that member states share efforts responsibly and show solidarity with those who do [países] protect our external borders and prevent illegal migration to the EU,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, in a statement.
After the trilogue agreement, the EU and its member states have “the tools to respond quickly in crisis situations”, especially when the 27 are faced with “a large number of illegal migrations or instrumentalization by hostile countries that want to deliberately try to destabilize the situation”. EU.
“Migration is a European issue that requires European solutions,” argued the president of the European executive.
Trilogues are meetings of representatives of the three main institutions involved in the European decision-making process: the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council.
The goal, von der Leyen continued, is “to implement concrete action plans to combat illegal migration across the Mediterranean, the Balkans and the Atlantic Ocean.”
Metsola says the agreement succeeds in combining “solidarity and responsibility.”
“Today we can be proud of the EU,” said Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, at a press conference at the EP in Brussels.
“In 2019, migration was the main concern of European citizens, and that remains the case today,” said Metsola.
According to the Speaker of the Parliament, Europe “needs a strong legislative framework” that is “the same in all Member States, that works and protects, that is humane and fair to all who seek help, that is firm towards those who need it” . are not legible”, and that “being strong” against people involved in human trafficking.
It is a combination of “solidarity and responsibility”, he advocated, admitting that the agreement, even if not perfect, could prevent the member states most under pressure from reintroducing physical borders.
Following last Wednesday’s provisional agreement, technical work continues to finalize the details of the new regulation.
The aim is for a final approval, given the necessary negotiation process until the European elections in June 2024, to share responsibilities fairly between Member States and to act in a supportive manner in dealing with migration flows.
At the beginning of October, during a meeting of the Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper, consisting of the ambassadors of the 27 to the EU), Member States finalized the negotiating mandate on a regulation on crisis situations, including the instrumentalization of migration and force majeure in the field of migration and asylum.
This approval made possible the step that has now been taken in the negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament.
Previously, last June, EU Member States agreed on a comprehensive approach to reforming asylum rules and the package has since been discussed by the co-legislators (Council and European Parliament).
The number of irregular arrivals into the EU has fallen significantly since the peak of the migration crisis in 2015, with 255,332 crossings recorded in 2023.
In recent hours, the Spanish Maritime Rescue Service has rescued 248 migrants traveling in five precarious boats.
The Guardamar Caliope and the Urania, which has made its debut in rescuing migrants since it was put into service early this month, and the Salvamar Alnair, helped 196 people traveling in four boats, which disembarked in Puerto Naos, La Palma. Canary Islands.
One of the boats carried 45 people from sub-Saharan countries and North Africa, and another carried 47 people, including five women and two children, who were being taken to Arrecife, the capital of Lanzarote.
Another 52 people were taken to Gran Canaria and received humanitarian aid from the Red Cross.
One of the migrants who arrived in Gran Canaria had to be transferred to a health center to be treated for various pathologies.
Source: DN
