During a meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, EU ambassadors reached an agreement on a keynote speech on “reforming immigration policy” in Europe, despite the Italian reservation, ahead of Friday’s EU summit in Spain.
The law under discussion aims to coordinate a collective response in the event of a large influx of migrants to one of the EU countries, as happened during the refugee crisis in 2015 and 2016, specifically allowing for the extension of the period of detention. Settlers on the outer borders of the camp. The text must now be negotiated with members of the European Parliament.
The text – the final piece of the European “Convention on Asylum and Migration” – which requires member states’ approval – has faced months of opposition from Germany on humanitarian grounds.
A consensus was finally reached during a meeting of interior ministers at the end of September, which made it possible to obtain Berlin’s approval, but Italy expressed its disapproval.
Repatriation of migrants
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni last week demanded that non-governmental organizations rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean disembark the ships they use in countries whose flags are raised, and the consensus adopted on Wednesday won the support of both Italy and Germany.
The European Commission and Spain – which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union – have expressed their confidence in the possibility of reaching an agreement before the informal European Council meets in Granada (southern Spain) on Friday. The pressing issue of immigration will be at the center of debates among state and government leaders.
The impasse surrounding this “crisis solution” has fueled frustration within the EU, in light of the large number of migrants arriving at its external borders and the situation on the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Text of the Agreement
In the event of a “massive and unprecedented influx” of migrants, the agreement stipulates the establishment of an exceptional system with less protection for asylum seekers than normal procedures.
The agreement extends the possibility of detaining migrants at the EU’s external borders for up to 40 weeks, and allows for faster and simpler examination of asylum applications for large numbers of arrivals. acceptance rate of less than 75%), they can be returned very easily.
It also provides for the rapid implementation of solidarity mechanisms among Member States in the care of refugees, particularly through the resettlement of asylum seekers or financial contributions.
reactions
For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Schulz considered the deal a “historic turning point”. In his account on the “X” site, he said that the entry into force of the agreement, which aims to organize the European response to the arrival of large numbers of migrants in one of the EU countries, will “effectively limit the irregularity”. Migration in Europe and will permanently reduce the burden on countries like Germany”.
For her part, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach expressed her hope that EU countries’ agreement on another key element of the asylum system reform package also reflects her government’s success.
The minister from the Green Party said in a statement released in Berlin on Wednesday: “We fought forcefully and successfully in Brussels until the last minute to avoid diluting the minimum humanitarian standards regarding the rights of refugees, for example, education and health.”
“Through our efforts, we have worked to ensure that the provisions of the crisis decree are applied only in the most concretely justified cases,” Birbach added.
Beerbock continued, “What is important to me is that the consensus reached by member states last June on the Common European Asylum System came down to registration at external borders, fair distribution and the use of a structured procedure. Repatriation should not be undermined through the door.” Background to the Crisis Decree.
Green light
Earlier on Wednesday, the European Commission warned that time was running out to reform migration policies, and called on member states to give the green light to a new migration and asylum treaty.
In a speech before a plenary session of the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, Margaritis Schinas, vice-president of the Commission responsible for the migration and asylum treaty, called on member states to give the green light ahead of the new migration deal. Parliamentary elections are coming up in the European Union next year.
Loopholes in the EU’s migration policy could be the biggest attraction for human traffickers and irregular migration, according to a European official.
Schinas stressed that the EU is paying the price for not having a unified policy, with customized instruments and reacting to different cases in each case in a different regulatory environment.
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