For better or for worse? The new EU migration law
#80
Dear Friends of Democracy,
If you consider which policy area should be located at the European level, you come to the topic of securing the external borders, which also includes migration movements.
In this respect, this week was indeed a historic day, as President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, put it:
"Today history was made, and the promise was kept: the Pact will ensure that no Member State is left alone to face pressure again, whether it is in the Mediterranean or on another land route, whether traits of those States dealing with secondary movements, or those facing hybrid threats and exploitation of migration, as we have seen in recent months."
Let's delve into the topic.
Which law was passed in the EU parliament?
It’s called “New Pact on Migration and Asylum”. It envisions collective and predictable rules to manage the reception and relocation of asylum seekers.
Explain.
The law consists of several parts. Here are the most essential points:
People who do not meet the conditions to enter the EU will have to undergo a pre-entry screening procedure, which will include identification, the collection of biometric data, and health and security checks for a maximum of seven days.
The database Eurodac will be amended to prevent the same person from filing multiple claims. The minimum age for collecting fingerprints will also be lowered from 14 to 6 years.
Migrants who pose a risk to national security, provide misleading information or come from countries with low recognition rates, such as Morocco, Pakistan and India, will not be allowed to enter the country's territory and will instead be kept at facilities on the border, creating a "legal fiction of non-entry."
A solidarity fund will be established to which all EU countries will have to contribute with relocations and or financial contributions, or support to third countries. The calculation of each member state's contribution will be based on the size of its population (50 per cent) and GDP (50 per cent), while each country will be free to decide the type of contribution or a combination of them.
Is this a good thing?
Last year, the EU received 1.14 million applications for international protection, a seven-year high, and registered 380,000 irregular border crossings, half of them through the Central Mediterranean route. It only needs the final green light from member states, which is expected at the end of the month, then, for the first time, we will have a comprehensive agreement at the European level on this issue.
What do others think?
The closer it got to the European vote in June – the law had been negotiated for over three years –, the more the chorus of dissent from the right and the left grew. The New Pact has also been the target of criticism by NGOs. In a joint statement, 22 charity groups, including the International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, said the pact "leaves troubling cracks deep within Europe's approach to asylum and migration, and fails to offer sustainable solutions for people seeking safety at Europe's borders."
What my opinion is?
Honestly, I don't know. There is no easy way to handle that very important topic, I guess. At least, I'm glad that EU politicians found a solution that could win a majority so shortly before the European elections. I hope it'll steal the populists’ and enemies of democracy's thunder.
See you in Europe,
Johannes