Last month, the European Parliament voted to approve a landmark package of migration and asylum reforms, set in motion by the implosion of the EU asylum system in 2015.
It was the last major hurdle in almost a decade of political wrangling. A majority of lawmakers waved through each of the 10 legislative texts, though the deal was slammed by many parliamentarians on both the left and right.
Non-governmental organizations and left-leaning lawmakers said it undermined the right to claim asylum and that nothing in the deal would prevent people from making the dangerous boat crossings in the Mediterranean to reach the EU. The far right charged it did not go far enough to reduce irregular immigration into the bloc, the underlying aim of the overall package.
Just as those involved in getting the deal over the line were breathing a sigh of relief, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk immediately said he would not implement part of the deal that requires member states to relocate refugees from elsewhere in the EU for a more equitable distribution. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also slammed it on X.
EU reforms only the ‘starting point’
The new rules, first proposed by the European Commission in September 2020 after a previous failed attempt, are expected to come into force in 2026. They still need a final blessing from the member states, though this is strictly a formality since they already gave the green light. In the next two years, member states will need to write the changes into national law.
But the devil is in the detail, or perhaps in this case, the implementation.
Sweeping reforms to implement
Even for a willing member state, there’s much to implement. Under the new rules, asylum-seekers and refugees are to be more thoroughly screened within seven days of arrival in the EU by land, sea or air.
Their details will be stored in the European asylum fingerprint database Eurodac, which will be expanded with further biometric data. Within the same week, they will be directed to one of two asylum processing tracks.
Under a new fast track, migrants from countries with asylum claim recognition rates below 20%, such as India, Pakistan or Morocco, could be held at the border for up to 12 weeks. Detention centers are to be set up in Greece, Italy, Malta, Spain, Croatia and Cyprus.
Those rejected will be deported directly from the EU’s external borders, either to their country of origin or potentially back to a third country, if it is designated safe by the EU.
Other asylum claimants, likely the overwhelming majority, will be processed under the regular track, which is due to be shortened. At present, asylum decisions often take years.
Children are to receive special treatment, with countries obliged to install independent monitoring mechanisms to ensure rights are upheld. In addition, conditions offered to asylum seekers across the bloc are supposed to be standardised.