By Jorge Liboreiro
It’s almost there, just mere centimetres away from the finish line.
The European Parliament approved this week the sweeping reform of the European Union’s migration and asylum policy during a closely-watched vote surrounded by uncertainty, tension and enormous expectations. The green light from the hemicycle means the overhaul only needs the endorsement by member states, expected later this month, to become the law of the land.
The approval resulted in a tighter-than-expected margin, as opposition grew from right-wing MEPs, who complained the reform wasn’t harsh enough to control irregular arrivals, and left-wing MEPs, who complained the reform was, in fact, too harsh and would foment violations of human rights.
The fact that two sides of the political spectrum embraced manifestly incompatible arguments makes the vote even more meaningful and transformative. Since the 2015-2016 migration crisis, the bloc has failed, time and time again, to reach any sort of consensus on the explosive issue. Quarrels and finger-pointing took precedence over reflections and policy-making. Things got so ugly that leaders often avoided the matter altogether, sweeping it under the rug as migrants continued to lose their lives in their desperate attempt to reach European shores.
It is estimated that 29,330 migrants have gone missing in the Mediterranean over the past decade, turning the sea into the world’s deadliest route.
“This is a legislative acknowledgement that for a European issue, we must have a European response,” said Roberta Metsola, the Parliament’s president, after the vote. “Critically, these new laws recognise that migration is above all a human issue and that behind each heartbreaking statistic is a life, a dream, a name.”
However, it’s precisely this human-centred dimension that has been subject to the fiercest criticism. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum, as the reform is called, is an elaborate set of five separate but intertwined laws that aim to establish clear-cut, predictable rules for all 27 member states so that the bloc can finally turn the page on ad-hoc crisis management. The Pact’s main novelties are an accelerated border procedure of up to 12 weeks for asylum seekers who come from countries with a low recognition rate (like India, Morocco and Pakistan) and a ground-breaking system of “mandatory solidarity” to alleviate the pressure on Southern Europe, the main point of entry.
Humanitarian organisations have warned the sped-up border procedure would degrade access to asylum and make it easier to deport claimants, particularly those who come from “safe” countries. “This package of proposals shamefully risks subjecting more people, including families with children, to de facto detention at EU borders; denying them a fair and full assessment of their protection needs,” Amnesty International said in a scathing statement.
The system of “mandatory solidarity” is also shrouded in mystery and scepticism, as such an idea has never been tried before. Poland and Hungary have already come against the mechanism, arguing it would forcefully impose the relocation of asylum seekers. This, of course, is false. The New Pact explicitly says governments will have three options to express solidarity: relocate a certain number of asylum seekers, pay €20,000 for each claimant they refuse to relocate, or finance operational support, like staff and equipment.
So what will happen to those who rebuff the system and sit comfortably on the sidelines? They might have to book a flight to Luxembourg.
Ylva Johansson, the European Commission for Home Affairs, said the executive would resort to legal action “if necessary” to make sure all countries comply with the reform, including the three “solidarity” options.
“But I must say that I'm pretty convinced that member states will implement the Pact now quite quickly,” she told Euronews in an interview the day after the vote.
Whether the New Pact will get bogged down in a mire of lawsuits, whether the relocation pledges will be broken, whether the border procedure will lead to unfounded deportations, whether emergency provisions will be abused to lock down migrants, whether frontline nations will remain overwhelmed and unattended… All of these matters are, for the time being, an open question. The reform is so wide-reaching, touches upon so many aspects, that we’ll have to wait until it takes full effect on the ground (at least two years) to draw firm conclusions.
That reflection will compare, on the one hand, the big hype created by the reform and, on the other, the grim reality of migration, a tortuous blend of political, economic, social, geographic, climate and personal factors that no piece of legislation can fix on its own.
“This package goes a long way,” said Metsola. “It will not magically solve every issue overnight, but it is ten giant leaps forward.” |
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A momentous vote on an imperfect reform
