EU member states and EU Parliament agree on asylum reform

EU member states and EU Parliament agree on asylum reform

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.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her relief at the agreement: "It means that Europeans will decide who comes to the EU and who is allowed to stay, not human traffickers. This will protect those who are in need." Parliament President Roberta Metsola spoke of the "most important agreement" of the legislature on an issue that is of concern to citizens.

The planned border procedures, which are intended to prevent migrants with little chance of being accepted from entering the EU, were particularly controversial in Germany. The Green Party leadership was subjected to massive criticism from the grassroots because of its approval of the asylum pact. They hoped for improvements from the European Parliament, but were unable to assert themselves against the member states on key points.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) defended the EU agreement as "urgently necessary and long overdue". However, it was also true that it was a compromise. "As Germany, we were unable to assert ourselves when it came to the blanket exemption of children and families from border procedures," she conceded.

Green MEP Rasmus Andresen spoke of a "difficult agreement" and mixed feelings in his party. "Whether the current agreement is able to establish humanity and order in migration policy is questionable," he explained.

Human rights organizations warned of "detention-like conditions" for migrants in camps at the EU's external borders. According to the agreement, it is possible to deport asylum seekers directly from there, including to so-called safe third countries. Countries such as Italy and Austria include Tunisia and Albania in this category. The British pact with the African country of Rwanda has also met with great interest in the EU. In Germany, the CDU in particular is calling for such an agreement.

The chairman and parliamentary group leader of the European People's Party, Manfred Weber (CSU), called the EU agreement a "milestone" in regaining control over the borders. Sharp criticism, however, came from the left-wing camp:

MEP Cornelia Ernst (Left Party) spoke of a "historic genuflection to the right-wing populists in Europe". The agreement was "the most massive tightening of European asylum and migration law since the founding of the EU". Parliament President Metsola also conceded that the package was "not perfect". However, it shows the EU's ability to act.

The time for an agreement was pressing, as the asylum pact is due to come into force before the European elections at the beginning of June. Moderate parties hope that this will take the wind out of the sails of the right-wing populists. Opinion pollsters are expecting a shift to the right in the election.

The member states and the European Parliament must now formally adopt the package of five legislative texts. The Permanent Representatives of the member states are due to discuss it later today.

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1. Some EU member states, including Germany, had strong reservations about the planned border procedures in the asylum reform, initiated by Alliance 90/The Greens within the EU.
2. Despite these criticisms, the Green Party leadership, such as Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, defended the EU agreement as necessary and long overdue.
3. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission, and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, emphasized the importance of the agreement in ensuring EU control over migration and asylum.
4. The Green Party MEP Rasmus Andresen expressed mixed feelings about the agreement, questioning whether it could establish humanity and order in Europe's migration policy.
5. Human rights organizations have warned against potential detention-like conditions for migrants in camps at the EU’s external borders and the possibility of deporting asylum seekers to 'safe third countries'.
6. The agreement on asylum reform is also being closely watched in Germany, with the CDU advocating for agreements like the one the UK established with Rwanda.
7. According to Manfred Weber, chairman and parliamentary group leader of the European People's Party (EPP), the EU agreement marked a significant step in regaining control over Europe's borders.
8. The left-wing camp, however, criticized the agreement as a historic genuflection to right-wing populists in Europe and the most massive tightening of asylum and migration law since the founding of the EU.
9. With the formal adoption of the package of five legislative texts by EU member states and the European Parliament, the asylum pact will come into force before the European elections at the beginning of June.

Source: www.stern.de