The European Union announces progress in negotiations on reforming the asylum system
The European Union will fundamentally reorganize its asylum system. After long negotiations, it was declared successful.
The European Union wants to control illegal immigration by reforming the asylum system. (archive photo)
Photo: Getty Images
The EU asylum system is undergoing radical reforms. After years of discussions, representatives of the European Union countries and the European Parliament finally agreed on the relevant legal texts, the Presidency of the Spanish Council and the European Union Commission announced on Wednesday morning. Many previous rules are scheduled to be tightened. The goal is to reduce irregular migration.
The agreement still needs to be confirmed in the plenary session of the European Parliament and EU countries. This is usually a formality.
In the future, there should be unified border procedures at the external borders of the European Union. In particular, there are plans to deal more harshly with people coming from countries considered relatively safe. Until a decision is made on an asylum claim, it must be possible to house people in concentration camps under prison-like conditions.
According to the plans, the distribution of protection seekers between EU countries will be reorganized using a “solidarity mechanism”: if countries do not want to accept refugees, they must provide support, for example in the form of cash payments. Rejected asylum seekers should be deported to safe third countries more easily in the future.
Intensive work on reform has been underway since the refugee crisis of 2015/16. At the time, countries like Greece were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people arriving from countries like Syria, and hundreds of thousands were able to move to other EU countries without registering.
In fact, this was not supposed to happen because, according to the so-called Dublin Regulation, asylum seekers must be registered where they first entered the EU.
The EU Commission then proposed new rules for the first time in 2016. However, the negotiations turned out to be very difficult until the end. Although the proposals were not strong enough in countries such as Hungary, aid organizations and parts of the left and green parties expressed concerns that human rights were not sufficiently respected in asylum procedures.
SDA/Ig
Did you find an error? Report now.
“Typical entrepreneur. Lifelong beer expert. Hipster-friendly internet buff. Analyst. Social media enthusiast.”
More Stories
Employees threaten to sue for working conditions
In Mexico it is so hot that monkeys fall dead from trees
Controversial naming – Hitler’s beetle will keep its name – News