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Members of the European Parliament participate in a series of votes during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Geert Vanden Weingart/AP
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Geert Vanden Weingart/AP
Members of the European Parliament participate in a series of votes during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Brussels, Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Geert Vanden Weingart/AP
BRUSSELS — European Union lawmakers on Wednesday approved major changes to the bloc’s immigration law, ending years of division over how to control thousands of unauthorized arrivals and pushing the far-right into the lead-up to June elections. They hope to take away campaign issues that will win votes from the Democratic Party. .
In a series of 10 votes, MEPs supported the regulations and policies that make up the Migration and Asylum Agreement. The reform tackles difficult questions about who should be held responsible when migrants arrive and whether other EU member states are obliged to help.
The rally was briefly interrupted in the general gallery by a small but noisy group of demonstrators wearing shirts reading “This deal will kill lives” and chanting “Vote no!”
The EU’s 27 member states will now need to back the reforms in a vote, likely in late April, before they come into force.
European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola, a former top immigration lawmaker who helped pave the way for the reform, posted on X (formerly Twitter) after the vote: “History has been made.”
“It has been more than a decade in the making. But we have kept our promise: a balance of unity and responsibility. This is the European way,” she wrote.
German Interior Minister Nancy Feser described the results as a “huge and very important success.”
“After years of tough negotiations, we have agreed to this comprehensive package, which has allowed us to overcome the deep divisions in Europe,” he said. Feser said in a written statement.
“We continue to protect people fleeing terrible wars, terrorism, torture and murder. But this responsibility for refugees will fall on even more shoulders in the future.” she added.
The plan was developed after 1.3 million people, mostly those fleeing wars in Syria and Iraq, fled to Europe in 2015. The EU’s asylum system has collapsed, reception centers in Greece and Italy are full, and countries further north have erected barriers to prevent people from entering the country. enter.
But few admit they are satisfied with the new policy response to one of Europe’s biggest political crises, and even the MPs who drafted some of the new regulations are reluctant to support the entire reform package. be.
“I’m not going to pop champagne after this,” Dutch lawmaker Sophie Int Veld, who summarized parliament’s position on immigration conditions, told reporters on the eve of the plenary session in Brussels.
Malin Björk, a Swedish lawmaker who worked on refugee resettlement, said the deal did not address “any of the problems it was trying to solve.”
He said the proposed reform would “undermine the right of individuals to seek asylum” in Europe because it would build on the plans some EU countries already have for processing overseas migrants. Italy has concluded a similar agreement with Albania. Björk’s left-wing group voted against the deal.
The new rules include controversial measures that would require facial images and fingerprints to be taken from children over the age of six and potentially restrain them during the tests. Those who are not allowed to stay may be subject to expedited deportation.
Behind the books, countries have an obligation to support EU member states by offering to house people eligible for asylum or, failing that, by paying to house them elsewhere. There is a possibility of loss.
Most immigration and human rights groups condemned the reform proposal.
In a joint statement, 22 charities, including the International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, said the deal “remains deep cracks in Europe’s approach to asylum and migration and offers no sustainable solutions for people seeking safety at Europe’s borders.” “We are not able to provide that.”
However, they noted that some of the reforms governing the resettlement of migrants from outside the region to Europe are “bringing a glimmer of hope to many refugees around the world”.
Yves Guedi of Amnesty International called this a “failure to demonstrate global leadership”.
“For people fleeing conflict, persecution and economic instability, these reforms mean reduced protection and they face human rights violations across Europe, including illegal and violent opposition, arbitrary detention and discriminatory policing. “It increases the risk,” he said.
Mainstream parties had hoped to secure agreement on the deal ahead of elections across Europe from June 6-9. Immigration is likely to be an issue in elections, and they believe the reforms address concerns about the issue, which has consistently drawn votes from far-right parties.
Beata Szydlo, a member of Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice Party and former prime minister, slammed the deal in a post on X on Wednesday. “The EU’s immigration policy is wrong and needs to change. But you can’t put out the fire by pouring oil on it,” she said.
Protests against migrants in Europe have largely focused on the small number of people who enter the country in unseaworthy boats or cross Europe’s borders on foot. Millions of people enter the country legally every year. Less than 10% of people are in Europe illegally, and the majority entered the country with permission but refused to leave the country even after their visas expired.
Once the regulation is fully approved, the main question is whether member states will fully implement it, and whether the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, will not enforce the regulation to avoid aggravating the political situation. The issue is whether to enforce the regulations if they choose to do so. Crisis in recent years.
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