Landmark EU asylum reform goes to vote

When she first presented the bill in September 2020, the European Commission chief called it a pragmatic and reasonable approach. But the new Pact on Migration and Asylum has been slammed by rights groups and politicians across the spectrum. It includes several interlinked pieces of legislation, including compulsory initial screening at borders that would last up to seven. Afterwards, migrants would be directed towards a standard or an accelerated asylum procedure. Sent back to their country of origin or transit, migrants whose asylum request is deemed valid but statistically have the least chance of obtaining international protection would be directed towards a quote border procedure. This concerns nationals of countries like Morocco, Tunisia and Bangladesh. Their claims would be dealt with in a maximum of 12 weeks and if rejected, they should be returned to their home countries within a further 12 weeks. The new bill maintains the principle whereby the first EU country. An asylum seeker enters is responsible for examining their case, but to relieve pressure on southern Europe, where most migrants. So-called solidarity mechanism would oblige other member states to either take in asylum seekers or give other countries financial. They’d pay €20,000 for each asylum seeker, not. The legislation also includes an emergency response mechanism if the block faces a surge in migration like that of 2015 to 2016. Under this provision, migrants would be detained at the external borders for up to nine months instead of 6. The pact has been criticised by rights groups and the left. Is focusing on keeping people rather than helping those in need, while members of the far right want more measures to fortify the bloc’s borders.