MEPs vote in favour of EU Migration Pact to overhaul rules on asylum seekers and migrants

MEPs vote in favour of EU Migration Pact to overhaul rules on asylum seekers and migrants

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT has voted to adopt all texts aiming to reform asylum policies, which charities have said will make it harder for refugees to seek protection.

The new Migration and Asylum Pact is a package of ten laws drawn up after years of negotiations that aim to get European Union countries to act together on migration.

Seconds before the vote began, a number of protesters in the viewing gallery disrupted the Parliament. Voting was suspended for a short period of time.

The demonstrators threw paper airplanes into the chamber of the parliament and held a sign demanding the MEPs reject the texts. The group chanted: “This pact kills. Vote no.”

Voting continued as the protestors were led out of the gallery, where the majority of MEPs voted in favour of every text.

It contains five main proposals, which were:

To create uniform rules around the identification of people who arrive in Europe from outside the EU to claim asylum;
• To develop a common database about new arrivals to Europe, which can paint a more accurate picture of migration trends;
• To speed up decisions on claims made by asylum seekers who enter Europe;
• To establish a ‘solidarity mechanism’ so that all countries share responsibility for asylum applications, rather than those that are at the edge of Europe;
• To ensure that the EU is prepared for future crises, including the weaponisation of migration.

This is a breaking story with more to follow.