After years of negotiations, the European Parliament has approved a major reform tightening the EU’s migration and asylum rules, reports the BBC.
The EU Asylum and Migration Pact, designed to speed up the asylum process and boost the return of irregular migrants to home countries, has been in the works since 2015. It will come into force in two years’ time.
It will also require EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers. Although some EU states remain opposed to parts of the agreement, it is expected to receive full approval at the end of April under majority voting.
Hungary and Poland are firmly against taking migrants in.
But migrants generally tend to prefer going to Western European countries than Eastern European countries – frontline countries include Italy and Spain, but also Greece.
2023 saw some 380,000 people illegally crossing the EU’s borders – the highest number since the great wave of 2016.
The pact also says that asylum claims with „low chances of being accepted” should be examined rapidly, without necessarily admitting the applicant into EU territory.
The agreement also aims to deal with asylum requests within a maximum of 12 weeks. In case of rejection, asylum seekers would have to be returned forcibly to their home country within the same period.
Migrants will be subject to a toughened pre-entry screening procedure within seven days, which would include identification and health and security checks.
Biometric data for any migrant aged six or older will be collected and there will be a mechanism to respond to sudden increases in arrivals.
A few days ago, New Zealand announced it would similarly adopt stricter measures as regards letting migrants in – something that Australia has already been doing.
