2023-06-09 17:20:37
Turkey, India, Tunisia or even Albania and Serbia: these countries have in common that their nationals have little chance of obtaining asylum in a country of the European Union. On average, their refugee status recognition rate is less than 20%.
It is the migrants from these countries who would meet, according to the agreement, in centers specially set up at the external borders of the EU. The examination of their asylum application will be accelerated. The challenge being to facilitate their dismissal, following six months maximum, to their country of origin or to a country of transit.
These centers might then eventually accommodate up to 120,000 migrants per year.
For the European Commission, this rapid procedure will be “more humane”, preventing people from finding themselves in situations of prolonged uncertainty.
Flexible solidarity mechanism
Unaccompanied minors will not be affected. Germany wanted to extend this exception to those who come as a family with children, but had to backtrack to reach a compromise.
Italy has already registered more than 50,000 migrants crossing the Mediterranean this year. Most of them come from Tunisia, Egypt and Bangladesh, and have almost no prospect of staying legally.
The agreement also provides for more solidarity with countries under strong migratory pressure. This is particularly the case of Italy. This solidarity would take the form of relocations of asylum seekers within the EU. And the States which refuse, as Hungary has already indicated, will have to pay financial compensation of 20,000 euros per migrant, the estimated price of an asylum procedure.
This agreement concluded by the European interior ministers will now go through the European Parliament, which can still modify the project, with the aim of adopting the reform before the European elections of 2024.
“Moral Compass”
For the president of the European People’s Party (EPP), the German Manfred Weber, the project is going in the right direction. He defends the idea of centers at the external borders. For him, a distinction must be made between asylum seekers, to avoid ultimately penalizing those who are actually persecuted.
This is not the opinion of the Greens in the European Parliament. The German Green spokesman laments that the states have “lost their moral compass”.
In Germany, many voices were raised this week before yesterday’s summit. Dozens of leading public figures have criticized the migratory turn of the screw in a common forum.
They are joined by the liberal news site time onlinewho notes that a few years ago, the idea of centers at European borders, “was denounced as being completely scandalous. Today, even, the German government has given its agreement.
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