On Thursday, the European Union stood on the cusp of reaching a consensus on fresh guidelines governing the treatment of asylum-seekers and irregular migrants. Germany’s commitment to endorse this vigorously negotiated package signalled a significant breakthrough.
EU’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, confidently declared that there were “no major obstacles” left to contend with regarding this contentious issue, following a meeting among the bloc’s interior ministers. She anticipated that formal approval would be secured “within a matter of days.”
Upon implementation, the novel “Pact on Migration and Asylum” aims to alleviate the burdens borne by frontline nations, notably Italy and Greece, by distributing a portion of incoming migrants to other EU member states. Nations reluctant to host asylum-seekers, including Poland and Hungary, will be obliged to provide financial support to those that do accept migrants.
Simultaneously, the European Union intends to expedite asylum regulation applications, enabling the swift repatriation of individuals found inadmissible to their country of origin or transit. Moreover, the maximum duration of detention for migrants in border facilities would be extended beyond the current 12-week limit.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that Germany had secured concessions, ultimately leading to its endorsement of the agreement. Germany had initially abstained due to concerns about the perceived harshness of certain provisions for specific categories of migrants.
Among the key changes that garnered German support were provisions ensuring that families and children arriving irregularly on EU soil were given priority and that admission criteria for asylum-seekers remained unchanged. Faeser also mentioned that the concept of “instrumentalization” had been more narrowly defined, likely referencing Italy’s efforts to equate charity ships engaged in migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean with human smugglers, or the tactics of countries like Belarus in directing migration flows toward Europe.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed the need for additional time to review the latest text in Berlin.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, after presiding over the Brussels meeting, emphasized that “a very broad majority of member states” supported the compromise approach. While acknowledging the need for further refinement, he assured that a final agreement would be reached “in the next few days.”
“We are almost at the finishing line,” he optimistically declared.
The protracted impasse on this issue had generated mounting frustration within the 27-nation bloc, especially as it grappled with an upswing in irregular migration. The urgency to implement the revised policy was further underscored by the arrival of thousands of asylum-seekers from Africa on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
One of the core objectives of this revised policy is to encourage European Union member states to act collectively in the event of a sudden surge in asylum-seekers, akin to the crisis experienced in 2015-2016 when hundreds of thousands of migrants, predominantly Syrians fleeing their war-torn nation, arrived in Europe.
For the agreement to pass, it requires a weighted majority of EU member states in favor, making it likely that countries opposing the host-or-pay provision, such as Poland, Hungary, Austria, and the Czech Republic, will not have sufficient support to block it.
In Budapest, Gergely Gulyas, Chief of Staff to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, remained critical of the migration pact, asserting that it could potentially transform border nations, particularly those along the Schengen border, into situations resembling Lampedusa.
The European Parliament added pressure on ministers by opting to temporarily halt negotiations with EU member states on aspects of the pact related to bolstering security along the bloc’s external borders. The EU’s goal is to enact these reforms into law before the upcoming European elections next June, which will usher in a new European Parliament and Commission.