EU asylum reform: Has the eternal dispute now been resolved?

Questions & Answers - EU asylum reform: Has the eternal dispute now been resolved?

After a long struggle, the EU member states and the European Parliament have agreed on a reform of the common European asylum system. It provides for a significant tightening of the rules for asylum procedures. Details of the agreement and what it means for Germany - here are the most important questions and answers:

Why is a reform of the asylum system needed?

The number of refugees arriving has recently risen sharply again. More than 800,000 asylum applications have been submitted in the European Union, Norway and Switzerland this year up to the beginning of October. Compared to the same period last year, this is the highest figure since 2016. In Germany, more than 304,000 people have already applied for asylum for the first time this year up to the end of November, more than twice as many as in the same period last year.

Intensive work on the reform has been underway since around 2016. In 2015 and 2016, countries such as Greece were overwhelmed by the arrival of increasing numbers of people from Syria, for example. Hundreds of thousands were able to move on to other EU countries unregistered.

This should not have happened because, according to the so-called Dublin Regulation, asylum seekers should be registered where they first entered the European Union. As a rule, the asylum application should then also be processed there. This system is now being reformed. The aim is to limit irregular migration and improve the protection of external borders.

What is to happen at the external borders?

The reform provides for uniform border procedures at the external borders. In particular, there are plans to deal much more harshly with people from countries that are considered relatively safe. Until a decision is made on the asylum application, people will be able to spend up to twelve weeks in detention-like conditions in reception camps.

In future, people who come from a country with a recognition rate of less than 20 percent and those who are considered a threat to public safety will have to undergo such a border procedure. According to the plan, arriving people can be registered with fingerprints and photos, also to check whether they are a threat to public safety.

In the event of a particularly large increase in migration, deviations from the standard asylum procedures could be made with the so-called crisis regulation. For example, the period during which people can be held in detention-like conditions could be extended. In addition, the number of people eligible for the planned strict border procedures could be increased. This would then apply to people from countries of origin with a maximum recognition rate of 50 percent.

What about rejected asylum seekers?

It should be easier to deport rejected asylum seekers to safe third countries. As a result of the agreement, more third countries can now be classified as safe, and even mere parts of countries can be considered safe in future. This can also be based on national assessments. If a third country is recognized as safe, people from countries with a high recognition rate - currently Syrians and Afghans, for example - can also be deported there.

How are refugees distributed?

This question has been the eternal bone of contention between EU countries in recent years. According to the plans, distribution will now be regulated by a "solidarity mechanism": If member states do not want to take in refugees, they must provide support in other ways, for example in the form of monetary payments. Countries such as Hungary reject a solidarity obligation. However, the EU states were able to agree on a common position in June, even without Hungary's consent.

The decision as to which EU country is responsible for carrying out the respective asylum procedure is to be made more quickly than before thanks to simplified rules. However, the principle of the responsibility of the first EU country into which an asylum seeker has entered will continue to apply. Family ties and whether someone has acquired an educational qualification in an EU country are also taken into account.

How did the agreement come about after years of stalemate?

Firstly, the majority of EU member states are desperate to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from continuing to benefit from the European Union's disunity on migration issues. This is because he is suspected of being the mastermind behind some of the migration routes that have been established over the past two years, for example via Belarus. His aim - at least that is what is believed in Brussels - is to destabilize the EU. Secondly, many of the politicians who have recently been involved in the negotiations want to slow down the rise of right-wing populist parties that are strictly opposed to immigration. This also applies to representatives of the German government, such as Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens).

What does this mean for Germany now?

In the short term, nothing will change in the situation in Germany. After all, it will be years before the politically united regulations are put into practice. Nevertheless, in the long term, there could be a reduction in the number of people crossing German borders without a visa - because some of those seeking protection will be sent back directly from the external borders and the stricter rules will act as a deterrent.

In addition to the negotiators, the CDU and CSU as well as the federal states and local authorities are also hoping for this. Some of the latter feel overwhelmed by the high number of asylum seekers and Ukraine refugees that they have to accommodate and care for. If the number of unauthorized entries drops significantly in the medium term, it is likely that the internal border controls introduced by the Federal Police at Germany's borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland in mid-October will end.

Will this end the dispute over migration policy in Germany?

No. Within the traffic light coalition, there is now closer cooperation on this issue. And parallel to the agreement in Brussels, some points of contention between the FDP and the Greens on naturalization and deportation practice were also cleared up in Berlin on Wednesday. However, the opposition remains critical. The AfD considers the stricter rules to be insufficient.

CDU/CSU politicians are pleased with the agreement. However, they are still critical of Interior Minister Faeser, who has played a key role in the negotiations over the past two years. "European asylum policy is taking a step forward not because of, but despite the Federal Government," says Andrea Lindholz (CSU), deputy chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. Fortunately, Faeser was apparently unable to get her way in Brussels with her demands for a "softening of the border procedure".

Politicians on the left are simply appalled. Their interior politician Clara Bünger sees the agreement as an "expression of the social shift to the right, which the German government is further fueling with its anti-asylum rhetoric and policies". The associations of private sea rescuers are also stunned. "It will be possible to detain people at the border simply because they are seeking protection in Europe, even families with children," says Gorden Isler from Sea-Eye. After this turning point in European asylum policy, future generations will have to "fight again for the universal validity of human rights as an achievement of civilization".

What happens now?

The agreement still has to be confirmed by the plenary of the European Parliament and the EU member states. This is normally a formality and should happen before the European elections next June. The member states have reportedly agreed on a two-year implementation period. This should give the states at the external borders enough time to create appropriate facilities to accommodate people from countries with a recognition rate of less than 20 percent.