MEPs approve new EU Migration and Asylum Pact

On Wednesday 10 April, MEPs gathered to discuss and vote on ten new bills updating the EU asylum and migration pact. Plenary will wrap up this term’s legislative work in the field of migration and asylum emphasising a need for cooperation and mandatory but flexible solidarity. 

This new pact on Migration and Asylum consists of regulations and policies which are hoped to create a fairer, efficient, and more sustainable migration and asylum process for the European Union. It will also establish a common approach to migration and asylum that is based on responsibility, solidarity, and respect for human rights. 

There are five key proposals of the pact. These are as follows:

• Screening Regulation: This will encompass a set of rules to be used in regard to the identification of non-EU nationals. 
• Eurodac Regulation: This involves the development of a common database which will detect unauthorised movements. 
• Asylum Procedures Regulation: This will increase the efficiency of asylum, return and border procedures.
• Asylum Migration Management Regulation: This will establish a new solidarity mechanism amongst Member States with the goal of balancing the current system (where a few countries are responsible for the majority of asylum applications).
• Crisis and Force majeure Regulation: This will guarantee the EU to be more prepared in the future to face situations of crisis. 

The pact relies on a delicate trade-off between the EU’s arrival countries, such as Italy and Greece, who agree to build detention centres at the border to process asylum claims if other countries accept some refugees or share costs. 

Lawmakers have criticized prior agreements the Commission have signed with North African countries. These involved several countries in North Africa receiving vast amounts of money in exchange for reducing migration to Europe. 

Dutch MEP Sophie in t’Veld shared her criticism on said policies, describing it as “throwing money at dictators is not migration policy”.

Just as recent as last month, European Commission President von Der Leyen and five national EU leaders decided on a similar 7.4 billion deal with Egypt. The bloc is also said to be organising a deal soon with Morocco. The deal is set to significantly change how the bloc limits migrant entry and how they move migrants around EU countries. If effective, it will make it easier for the EU to deport unsuccessful asylum seeker applicants. 

This raises questions as to whether the EU are moving towards an approach to asylum that is based on responsibility and respect for human rights. The criticisms that have been voiced regarding prior agreements with North African countries raise concerns about the ethical implications of the EU’s future migration and asylum policies.