European Parliament Approaches Crucial Vote on Asylum Reform Amid Disagreements

Brussels (Brussels Morning) – The European Parliament considers a significant immigration overhaul to strengthen asylum procedures and enforce shared responsibility among EU nations amid internal disagreements.

The European Parliament will vote Wednesday on an extensive overhaul of its immigration procedures that would significantly solidify entry procedures for asylum-seekers and mandate all the bloc’s member nations to share responsibility.

The suggested migration and asylum pact, initially proposed by the European Commission in September 2020, is assigned to undergo scrutiny by the European Parliament. This overhaul, accomplished after years of internal discord, strives to address mounting challenges amid a wave in asylum applications and uncommon migrant entries across the 27-nation bloc.

How Many Asylum Applications Did Europe Receive?

According to data from the EU’s border and coast guard agency Frontex, asylum applications achieved 1.14 million last year, the tallest number since 2016, while irregular migrant access into the bloc surged to 380,000.

Are EU Countries United on the Solidarity Mechanism?

According to wenews, Key features of the reform include a solidarity mechanism mandating all EU countries to help front-line states like Italy and Greece, either by taking asylum-seekers or delivering financial contributions. However, resistance to the pact stems from various quarters, including far-right, far-left, and socialist lawmakers.

Supporters of the reform, such as Manfred Weber, head of the European People’s Party, assert that the new regulations would enable better control over external borders and alleviate stress on the EU. While, NGOs and migrant charities express worries over provisions that could lead to systematic detentions, especially the establishment of border facilities for asylum-seekers.

Despite the controversial nature of the pact, French centrist lawmaker Fabienne Keller defines it as “very balanced” and emphasizes its advancements over the existing framework. However, criticism persists over aspects like sending asylum petitioners to “safe” third countries and the notion of offsetting financial obligations under the solidarity mechanism.

Why do Lawmakers Present Objections to the Proposal?

Lawmaker Raphael Glucksmann presents objections, cautioning against the outsourcing of EU borders and emphasising potential loopholes in the proposed mechanisms. Amid the polarized debate, one point of consensus emerges regarding the establishment of a system to gather biometric data from arriving asylum-seekers, albeit with suspicion about its effectiveness in curbing mass irregular immigration.

In 2020, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, disclosed that “migration is complex. The old method no longer works.” She was offering a new EU Pact – one of the biggest overhauls to the EU’s asylum and migration system in years.

On 20 December 2023, after three years of negotiations, the Council and European Parliament declared that they had reached a political consensus on the key issues of the Pact. This is not the end of negotiations – technical discussions will persist next year, and the package still needs to be formally adopted. 

What Concerns Raised by IRC?

The IRC has warned that the arrangement leaves troubling cracks in the foundations of what will become the destiny EU’s migration and asylum system., The IRC considers it is well within Europe’s capacity to address migration and asylum with fairness and humanity, in a way that works for both new appearances and local communities.