EU asylum reform: pressure mounts for agreement before Christmas

EU asylum reform: pressure mounts for agreement before Christmas

With the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the European Union wants to learn the lessons of 2015 and 2016, when more than one million people came to Germany alone, after years of dispute. At the heart of the five legislative texts are stricter asylum rules and relief for main countries of arrival such as Italy and Greece.

The planned asylum procedures at the external borders, which are intended to prevent people with particularly low chances of being accepted from continuing their journey, are particularly controversial. Parliament is pushing for exceptions for families with children up to the age of twelve, but has so far been unsuccessful.

Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) nevertheless expressed confidence that a compromise could be reached: "After years of tough negotiations, we are on the home straight," she wrote in the short message service X.

The German Greens in particular are insisting on exemptions for families with children. The German government was largely isolated among the member states with this demand and is hoping that Parliament will persevere.

Pro Asyl shares this hope: "Children behind barbed wire, deportations to unsafe third countries and virtually lawless areas at the external borders can still be prevented if the EU Parliament remains strong," explained the refugee aid organization.

The fronts in the EU have also hardened on the issue of "safe third countries". Countries such as Italy and Austria want to send asylum seekers back to Albania or Tunisia. Parliament is demanding high hurdles for this, such as a genuine connection between the refugees and the country and access to the labor market.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) criticized this so-called "Rwanda model" during a visit to Kigali. The CDU, on the other hand, shows sympathy for such a takeover of refugees, as the UK has agreed with Rwanda.

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1. The EU asylum reform negotiations are taking place in the heart of Brussels, the capital of the European Union.
2. Italy, as a member state of the EU, has been calling for stricter asylum rules and relief for countries like Greece, which have been overwhelmed by asylum seekers.
3. The European Parliament has been pushing for exceptions to the proposed asylum procedures at external borders for families with children up to 12 years old.
4. Before the Christmas break, there is pressure to reach an agreement on the EU asylum reform, as Norway and other non-EU countries are watching closely.
5. Germany, along with a few other member states, is advocating for exemptions for families with children in the asylum policy, a position that has been met with resistance from other countries.
6. Asylum seekers could potentially be sent back to safe third countries such as Albania or Tunisia, but the European Parliament is demanding high hurdles to ensure the safety and rights of the refugees.
7. Print out this article to keep updated on the developments in the EU asylum reform and its impact on member states like Italy and Germany.

Source: www.stern.de