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On Wednesday afternoon the European Parliament approved the New Pact on Migration and Asyluman important set of reforms designed to partially modify the so-called “Dublin regulation”, the main European law that regulates the management of migrants and asylum seekers.
It is the most important and extensive reform of recent years regarding immigration in the European Union, the result of a long negotiation that lasted four years and on which Parliament itself and the governments of the Union had reached a general agreement last December. The approval of the reforms was celebrated by the centre-right and centre-left parties but strongly criticized both by those on the left and by those of the far right in countries such as Hungary and France, which consider some measures adopted are still too moderate and others disadvantageous for their countries. Before officially entering into force, it will now have to be voted on by the Council of the European Union, the body in which the representatives of the governments of the 27 member countries sit, whose decision is expected by the end of April.
In summary, the pact provides for stricter reception rules, especially for migrant people who arrive in Europe from countries considered “safe” (“safe” according to rather controversial criteria, established by the receiving countries themselves): these are the people who already today they have less chance of having their request for international protection approved. If finally approved, the new pact includes measures that will make it easier to expel these migrants and send them back to their countries of origin.
The text also introduces a limited mechanism for the transfer of asylum seekers from the countries of arrival (therefore mainly the countries of southern Europe, including Italy) to the internal ones. The reform provides that when a country declares that it is “under pressure” the other member states will have to choose whether to accept a certain number of migrants, pay a quota to a common fund of the European Union or provide operational support, sending personnel to the country or providing technical equipment.
In recent years the Dublin regulation had been at the center of numerous controversies between European countries: it is a rule in force since 1997, according to which the first country in which a migrant arrives is also the one that examines his asylum request and welcome. Most governments agreed that the rules needed to be changed, but for years they had been unable to agree on how to do it. For example, countries like Italy and Greece, the main states of entry for asylum seekers arriving in Europe by sea, had long been asking for the elimination of the rule that made them solely responsible for registering migrants upon arrival, or at least introduction of mandatory mechanisms for the “redistribution” of migrant people so as not to have to deal with all requests for international protection. Other countries, such as those in Eastern Europe which are much more hostile to immigration, opposed any mechanism that would force them to welcome more migrants.
The New Covenant is based on ten legislative proposalsamong which the most important are the following.
The Pact introduces a pretty important change in asylum request processes, establishing two possible ones and speeding up the expulsion process: the traditional procedure, which usually takes several months to complete, or an accelerated procedure which takes place at the border and which should last a maximum of 12 weeks, during which migrant people should be kept in special facilities. Asylum seekers cannot choose which of the two paths to follow, but are divided based on their profile, drawn up through a new and uniform screening regulation: the text provides that this “border procedure” will be used mainly for asylum seekers who for some reason are considered a “danger” for the countries of the Union, for those who come from countries considered “safe” and for those who come from countries which, also for other reasons, have a very low rate (under 20 percent) of accepted asylum applications.
If their request is rejected, as is very likely in these cases, the migrants will have to be expelled to their country of origin or a so-called “third country”, among which there are also those from which they often leave to reach European countries : Tunisia, Libya, Turkey.
Various non-governmental organizations dealing with the rights of migrants have also criticized the reform because during the 12 weeks asylum seekers will be considered legally not present on the territory of the Union, even though they are physically present, and this could further increase the risk that they will be denied access to rights and services. Furthermore, assessing an asylum request is a difficult and complex process and is unlikely to be completed accurately in such a short time.
The second important reform contained in the Pact concerns the establishment of the “mandatory” solidarity mechanism between the countries of arrival and the internal countries of the Union. In some particular cases the latter will in fact have to decide whether to accept a certain number of migrants, provide operational assistance to the country of arrival which is in difficulty or pay 20 thousand euros for each applicant who they refuse to accept into a common fund of the European Union . The money paid into this fund will not only be redistributed among border countries, which are more exposed to migratory flows, but can be used to finance “actions in or in relation to third countries that have a direct impact on migratory flows towards the EU », i.e. countries, such as Libya, from which migrants leave to reach Europe. In recent years the European Union has made or promoted agreements with these countries so that local authorities forcibly detain them on their territory, very often in inhumane conditions.
Countries that refuse to accept asylum seekers or pay contributions could face an infringement procedure, a very common tool used by the European Commission, the body that holds executive power in the European Union, to enforce the rules on states members.