2023-06-09 15:34:24
09.06.2023
With difficulty, the member states of the European Union reached an agreement to share the burdens of asylum seekers, following painstaking negotiations that succeeded in pushing Italy and Greece to join an agreement that eluded the bloc for nearly a decade. What are the terms of the agreement?
The negotiations of the 27 European Union interior ministers at their meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday (June 9, 2023) took a long time until they agreed on A formula for comprehensive reform of asylum procedures and the immigration file offered years ago.
The President of the Council of the European Union, the Swedish Maria Malmer Steinergaard, had suspended the meeting three times and the texts of the agreement were amended several times following the disapproving statements of the various delegations among themselves on several points.
After much effort, large European Union countries such as Germany and Italy agreed to the draft reforms, while small countries abstained. In the end, the decision was not unanimous, but it did obtain a qualified majority of the member states, which represent at least 65 percent of the EU population. Poland and Hungary, which still do not want to comply with common EU immigration rules, voted once morest the resolution.
Hosting refugees or paying hosts
In turn, the conservative Polish nationalist interior minister, Mariusz Kaminski, announced that his country will not pay any compensation in the European Union fund for asylum seekers who will not be received by his country. This compensation of 20,000 euros per asylum seeker must be paid under the new solidarity rules if a country does not receive the number of asylum seekers commensurate with its population.
In this context, migration expert Helena Hahn of the European Policy Center think tank reveals that she is skeptical that the agreement will be implemented smoothly: “We have seen that the agreement was met with resistance until the moment it was approved by some member states, including That’s Poland. The opposition states say the costs are too high, so we can expect more opposition.”
In 2022, 850,000 people will apply for asylum in the European Union
“obligatory solidarity”
Despite strong opposition to “mandatory solidarity” with Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Malta, the EU states that most of the Asylum seekers What burdens her, she considers German Interior Minister Nancy Weser The decision agreed upon in Luxembourg is “historic” and was not easy for everyone. The minister approved the fast-track asylum procedure at the EU’s external borders, which had been controversial in the past Germany’s ruling coalition.
According to the new border procedures, it will take place Screening of asylum seekers Those who do not have a chance to obtain protection because they come from relatively safe countries within a maximum of 12 weeks and then work to deport them. This applies to all countries whose citizens’ asylum recognition rate in the European Union is less than 20 percent, such as Pakistan, Albania, and some African countries.
What regarding deportation?
Under the new rules, asylum-seekers rejected at the EU’s external borders can be quickly returned to their countries of origin or to a third country. In the future, the deporting countries, ie Greece and Italy, must be able to decide for themselves whether the situation in the countries to which they are to be deported is appropriate or not. The consolidated list of safe countries approved by the European Union and applicable to all its states will end.
The new measures will apply to unaccompanied children and minors, which has drawn criticism from one side Green party Partner in the ruling coalition in Berlin. In a statement, Home Secretary Nancy Viser responded to the criticism by saying she would continue to stand up for children’s rights and exclude some difficult cases from the procedures. It is unclear if this will satisfy the Green Party.
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18.05.2023
“detention centers”
In accordance with the established asylum procedures, it must be established reception centers New closed in my first two entry, Greece and Italy. Refugee organizations are the Green Party and Wings in Social Democratic Party These centers are unacceptable “detention centres”. Italy agreed to the deal only following the number of people to be included in the rapid asylum procedure was significantly reduced during tough deliberations on Thursday.
At the beginning of the negotiations, the Swedish presidency of the Union proposed that asylum procedures be carried out in these centers for 120,000 asylum seekers every year, but only 40,000 asylum seekers, that is a third, were approved following painstaking negotiations. This reduces the number of people who have to be transferred from Europe Union other, Italy or Greece as part of the “redistribution” from the “detention centres”. So far, only Germany, Portugal, Ireland and Luxembourg have shown willingness to receive asylum seekers who may meet the new conditions.
All other member states will have to pay compensation into an EU fund to cover the costs of border protection and other expenses to prevent migration. “Member states with large numbers of new arrivals entering the EU (Greece and Italy) need to significantly increase their capabilities in order to be able to properly handle these border procedures,” migration researcher Helena Hahn told DW.
What regarding the Syrians and Afghans?
Asylum seekers from Syria or Afghanistan, the main bloc of migrants to the EU, will not be affected by the new rules because the recognition rate for their claims is around 50 percent. The “normal” measure will apply to Syrians and Afghans. This means that they will register in Greece or Italy and then mostly continue on their way to Germany.
This “secondary immigration”, which is not actually allowed under EU law but is common practice, will hardly be affected by the new, hard-won rules. And the European Union countries promise – as was often the case before – only to take back asylum seekers who entered them as the first countries in the European bloc.
What then?
The aim of the reforms is to reduce the number of arrivals and asylum seekers in the EU, which has risen sharply in recent years. In 2022, 850,000 people will apply for asylum. EU diplomats said the new rules were intended to increase deterrence. Here, the Hungarian Minister of the Interior, Sandor Pinter, suspects that New border measures It will have a “deterrent” effect. During a recent visit to the Bavarian state’s interior minister, Joachim Herrmann, the nationally conservative Pinter made it clear that the EU’s external borders must be better protected, so that immigrants cannot penetrate them. While his German counterpart, Nancy Weser, said in Luxembourg: “I want to keep the borders open.”
Migration expert Helena Hahn of the European Policy Center think tank recommends that member states urgently continue efforts to reach consensus and improve coordination: “If this does not happen, things might be even worse than today: disorganized procedures, increasing numbers.” Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner complained that “the current asylum system is not working”.
The agreement reached Thursday opens the way for negotiations in the European Parliament with a view to adopting reform before the European elections scheduled for June 2024. And if the agreement is blessed European ParliamentIt might go into effect next year.
By the way, it will not be affected Asylum seekers from Ukraine with the new rules; They enjoy an exceptional protection status.
Bernd Riegert/Khs
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