European Parliament Approves Reforms to Migration Laws
The European Parliament approved comprehensive reforms to migration and asylum policy for the European Union.
The European Parliament on Wednesday, April 10, approved broad-ranging reforms regarding migration and asylum policymaking in the European Union.
After a decade of disputes over the provisions of the new agreement, the centrist faction of the European Parliament yesterday overcame far-right and far-left wings and managed to pass the new migration agreement. The condition for this resolution to take effect is that it must receive approval from all 27 EU member states, and voting on this matter is expected to take place by the end of the current month.
Euronews wrote regarding this decision: “This new agreement comprises five detailed sets of separate but interconnected migration and asylum laws that still require the final green light from member states to be implemented, which is expected by the end of the current month. Under this agreement, the acceptance and settlement of asylum seekers will be managed collectively and more predictably among member states. The five laws received an average of 300 votes in favor and 270 votes against.”
Ylva Johansson, the European Union’s Commissioner for Home Affairs, stated regarding this decision: “With the new package, the European Union’s external borders will better protect vulnerable persons and refugees, and those who are not entitled to stay will be rapidly returned.” Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, also called this decision a historic and necessary step for the European Union.
While dozens of protesters demonstrated against the European legislation outside the European Parliament building in Brussels following the agreement’s passage by the European Parliament, Amnesty International also released a statement calling the decision “shameful,” stating: “Europe knows this will cause greater human suffering.” The International Federation of the Red Cross also warned about the consequences of this resolution on the situation of asylum seekers.
Besides Amnesty International, dozens of other charities, including Oxfam and Caritas, criticized the changes, calling them dangerous, and in an open letter during negotiations declared that this agreement creates an unjust structure that is unworkable.
Viktor Orbán, the right-wing populist Prime Minister of Hungary, is among the main opponents of the new reforms, and after the European Parliament finalized the resolution, he called it another nail in the coffin of the European Union.
The measures of this agreement are set to be implemented in 2026 after the European Commission specifies how to implement it in the coming months. According to these reforms, border centers must hold illegal migrants while their asylum applications are reviewed, and the deportation of those who receive rejections is to be expedited.
