Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper), The European Pact on Migration and Asylum, voted in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, is a step backward for Europe and for those countries such as Italy that suffer from migratory pressure coming by sea. Italy, Malta, Greece, and Spain will become Europe’s hotspots.
The provisions of the Dublin Regulation are further strengthened as the responsibilities of the countries of first entry concerning migrants increase from 12 to 20 months. On secondary movements France, Germany, and Sweden get the opportunity to send back to Italy those who have moved to their countries simply by notifying the transfer to the country of first entry, rather than making a request as it was in the past. Moreover, with an unjustified tightening of the connecting criteria, reunification between brothers or uncles will be denied.
On the so-called mandatory solidarity, we are in the farce, as this can result in a voluntary choice by the Member States between financial contributions, border management, operational support within the EU or in third countries, or relocations. But in the latter case comes the so-called ‘Dublin compensation’, so if asylum seekers arrive in other countries with secondary movements, the share of solidarity will be compensated by their presence, without the host country sending them back to the country of first entry.
The border procedure will be mandatory for everyone, including minors accompanied by their family. These new rules will transform Italy into a European hotspot.
To all this is added a real involution on the issue of rights, as denounced by many experts and NGOs active in the field of reception. Asylum seekers will be detained and a legal fiction will apply to them according to which they will be denied entry into the national territory (even if they are there) pending the completion of the screening procedure.
For us, a true European asylum right consists of two key elements which unfortunately are absent in the agreement: legal ways of access to the EU and fair sharing of responsibilities between Member States and unfortunately, these two elements are absent. The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni defended this agreement which, however, is inhumane and penalizes our country.
Finally, it is unfortunate that on this fundamental issue, the European Parliament’s negotiating role will be completely canceled, because the Commission will no longer act, as Parliament would have liked, with delegated acts but with Council proposals and implementing acts. In short, in Europe today we take a step back on the issue of migrants’ rights, but also on the solidarity that for us must be true and not stained by bureaucratic mechanisms that make it impossible.
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