EU agrees ‘historic’ migration pact as NGOs warn of rights abuses

Brussels, Dec 20 (EFE).- The European Union on Wednesday reached an historic political agreement on migration and asylum reform.

Critics, however, including numerous international human rights groups, say the deal will undermine the rights of asylum seekers.

The Pact on Asylum and Migration will facilitate how asylum seekers’ claims are processed, while also making it easier for member states to deport those who do not have the right to remain in the EU.

The deal is designed to ease the burden on countries on the EU’s external borders, namely those in southern and southeastern Europe, the point of arrival for the vast majority of irregular migrants.

The agreement reached Wednesday between the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU (currently held by Spain), the European Parliament and the European Commission, still has to be formalized and adopted in the first half of 2024, ahead of European Parliament elections in June.

“Today is truly a historic day,” the Parliament’s Maltese president, Roberta Metsola, said.

“I come from an island in the Mediterranean, and I know exactly what it means when we say that we have finally delivered on the migration and asylum pact,” which she said was “probably the most important legislative deal” of the current legislature’s mandate.

President of the European Council, Belgian Charles Michel, said the “landmark” pact to address migration and “build a comprehensive European response” to the migration crisis.

European Commission president, Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen, also praised the deal in a brief statement: “Migration is a common European challenge – today’s decision will allow us to manage it together,” she said.

But Metsola also acknowledged that the deal was “not a perfect solution”.

“It is not a perfect package on the table, and it does not look at the solutions to all complex issues, but what we do have on the table is far better for all of us than we have had previously,” she said.

Human rights groups and NGOs have been far more critical, with Amnesty International warning the deal would lead to a “surge in suffering” and would “set back European asylum law for decades to come.”

“The Pact will almost certainly cause more people to be put into de facto detention at EU borders, including families with children and people in vulnerable situations,” said Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.

She also slammed the pact for falling short of “concretely supporting states where people first arrive in Europe including Italy, Spain or Greece.”

“Instead of prioritizing solidarity through relocations and strengthening protection systems, states will be able to simply pay to strengthen external borders, or fund countries outside the EU to prevent people from reaching Europe,” Geddie said.

Maria Nyman, the Secretary General of Caritas Europa, said the pact shows that EU nations «prefer to shift their asylum responsibility to non-EU countries, prevent arrivals and speed up return, exposing migrants to human rights violations.» EFE

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