BRUSSELS: EU countries and lawmakers reached an agreement Wednesday on an overhaul of the bloc’s laws on handling asylum-seekers and migrants, officials said.
The reform includes speedier vetting of irregular arrivals, creating border detention centres, accelerated deportation for rejected asylum applicants and a solidarity mechanism to take pressure off southern countries experiencing big inflows.
Spain, which chaired the lengthy negotiations in its role holding the EU presidency, said on X, formerly Twitter: “A political agreement has been reached on the five files of the EU new Pact on Migration and Asylum.”
European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said: “It’s been a long road to get here. But we made it. Europe is finally delivering on migration.”
Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen added that “migration is a common European challenge today’s decision will allow us to manage it together”.
The accord still needs to be formally approved by the European Council, representing the 27 EU member countries, and the European Parliament before it enters the bloc’s lawbooks.
The migration issue has taken on a harder political edge in Europe in recent years with the rise of nationalist anti-immigrant parties in several EU countries, including Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands.
The negotiators were keen to reach a workable deal that could be enacted before the term of the current European Parliament ends in June 2024. But dozens of charities that help migrants — including Amnesty International, Oxfam, Caritas and Save the Children — have criticised the changes, saying in an open letter that the package would create a “cruel system” that is unworkable.
