“Historic agreement”.. Europe fixes the migration system after years of discussions

Falconpowers – After lengthy discussions and last-minute negotiations that lasted all night, European lawmakers and EU member states reached an agreement on Wednesday morning on the thorny issue of reforming the migration system, which has been a concern for human rights advocates.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed this “historic agreement” on the Migration and Asylum Pact.

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, considered it “probably the most important legislative agreement” of her term.

This initiative was praised by Germany, France, Spain, Greece, and the Netherlands, as well as Italy, which considered that this reform makes the countries on the front lines facing migrant flows “feel they are not alone.”

In contrast, Hungary vehemently rejected the solidarity measures provided for in the agreement, which can be adopted by a qualified majority without its approval.

Coincidentally, this agreement was reached after the French Parliament passed a controversial immigration law on Tuesday night, which created a rift in President Emmanuel Macron’s camp due to the support of the far-right.

This Pact, presented by the European Commission in September 2020, is a new attempt to rewrite European regulations, after a previous attempt failed in 2016 in the aftermath of the refugee crisis.

The goal is to finalize the entire texts before the European elections scheduled for June 2024, as the migration issue is at the forefront of the political debate in several European countries, against the backdrop of the rise of far-right and populist parties.

The reform, which includes a series of five texts, provides for enhanced monitoring of migrant flows to the European Union, the establishment of closed centers near the borders to expedite the return of those whose asylum applications are rejected, as well as a mandatory solidarity mechanism between member states to assist those facing significant pressures.

This political agreement still needs to be formally approved by both the Council (member states) and the European Parliament.

French Green MEP Damien Carême condemned the Pact as “unworthy of Europe’s finest values,” writing that “we have ended up with a text that is worse than the current situation… we will finance walls, barbed wire and protection systems throughout Europe.”