Brussels: WednesdayB will answer on Wednesday for an overhaul of immigration policy that will make entry rules for asylum seekers more difficult and require all EU countries to share responsibility.
For the first time, the European Parliament will adopt several laws, based on the proposal of the European Commission in September 2020, which will shape the migration and asylum agreement of the Union.
This agreement was made only after overcoming years of tension and division between the member states of the European Union. Once fully adopted, it will enter into force in 2026.
Along with the transition, the European Union has signed several agreements with foreign countries to reduce the number of migrants leaving the region to reach Europe.
Against the background of the two-pronged approach, the rise of asylum applications in the 27-nation EU reached 1.14 million last year, the highest level since 2016.
According to Frontex, the EU’s border and coast guard agency, irregular migrant arrivals in the EU reached 380,000 last year.
The migration and asylum deal has been opposed by the far right, the left and some socialist MPs for various reasons.
Civil society groups and migrant charities have opposed the reforms, fearing in particular the creation of border facilities for asylum seekers and systematic detentions that are considered illegal.
This reform basically maintains the basic rule that the first European Union country to seek asylum is responsible.
But it also includes a “solidarity mechanism”, requiring all EU countries to help frontline countries such as Italy and Greece under pressure by taking in some asylum seekers or making similar financial contributions.
Fabienne Keller, a central French lawmaker in the European Parliament who supported one of the texts, called the agreement “very balanced” and “a big change from the current situation”.
“There is an irregular flow of migration and more solidarity through border procedures,” he said.
But He admitted it was a “very hot topic” and criticized far-right MPs for “trying to scare everyone” about the changes.
A parliamentary vote will not be the final step in the deal, Keller said, because the technicalities of the procedure have not yet been determined. It covers how to set up border posts and provide adequate resources, interpreters and police officers.
Another controversial issue is the rule of sending asylum seekers to “safe” third countries.
France’s Raphael Glucksman, a left-wing member of parliament, said it “allows asylum seekers to receive asylum in an EU country to be sent to a transit country”.
He criticized the agreement, which could undermine the financial obligations of some EU member states under the solidarity mechanism if they help pay for tighter border security in other EU countries.
“This supports the idea of a ‘safe third country’ belonging to some ‘safe’ countries just using that label.” “This is another step towards outsourcing our borders.”
On the far right, French MP Anne-Paul Garraud said “the UK’s external borders are like a sieve and nothing is being done to change them”.
One of the few changes the rightists support is a system to capture the biometric data of every arriving asylum seeker and enter it into an EU database called oderodac, but says it will do little to stop irregular immigration.
“This mechanism is just a smoke screen.” “It would be ineffective and impossible given the scale of migration flows.”
