View source for New Pact on Migration and Asylum

The '''New Pact on Migration and Asylum''', also known as the '''EU Migration Pact'''<ref name="s503">{{cite web | title=Explained: What is the EU Migration Pact? | website=RTE.ie | first=Gavin | last=O'Callaghan | date=2024-04-28 | url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0428/1446174-migration-pact/ | access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref><ref name="z040">{{cite web | last=O'Halloran | first=Marie | title=Dáil accepts controversial EU Migration Pact by 79 votes to 72 | website=The Irish Times | date=2024-06-26 | url=https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2024/06/26/dail-accepts-controversial-eu-migration-pact-by-79-votes-to-72/ | access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref> or the '''EU Asylum and Migration Pact''',<ref name="y028">{{cite web | last=Gozzi | first=Laura | title=EU approves major overhaul of migration rules | website=BBC Home | date=2024-04-10 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68779387 | access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref><ref name="b449">{{cite web | title=European Parliament agrees on stricter EU migration rules | website=dw.com | date=2024-04-10 | url=https://www.dw.com/en/european-parliament-agrees-on-stricter-eu-migration-rules/a-68782568 | access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref> is a set of new [[European Union]] rules concerning [[Immigration to Europe|migration]] set to take effect in June 2026.<ref name="i307">{{cite web | title=Will a new “pact” of ten laws help Europe ease its migrant woes? | website=The Economist | date=2024-07-30 | url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/07/30/will-a-new-pact-of-ten-laws-help-europe-ease-its-migrant-woes | access-date=2024-09-28 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20240731170620/https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/07/30/will-a-new-pact-of-ten-laws-help-europe-ease-its-migrant-woes | archive-date=2024-07-31}}</ref> It will compel member states to more evenly share the cost and efforts of hosting migrants and reform European Union [[Asylum seeker|asylum]] and [[border security]] procedures, among other provisions.<ref name="auto"> {{Cite web |last=Blenkinsop |first=Philip |date=20 December 2023 |title=EU agrees new rules on hosting migrants, seeks to cut numbers |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-agrees-new-rules-hosting-migrants-seeks-cut-numbers-2023-12-20/ |url-status= |access-date=21 December 2021 |website=[[Reuters]] |via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stevis-Gridneff |first=Matina |date=December 20, 2023 |title=After Years of Wrangling, E.U. Countries Reach Major Deal on Migration |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/20/world/europe/eu-migration-asylum.html |work=[[New York Times]] |via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>
==Legislative process==
The [[European Commission]] initially proposed the Pact on 23 September 2020.<ref name="v930">{{cite web | title=The EU’s "New Pact on Migration and Asylum" is missing a true foundation | website=Brookings | date=2022-03-09 | url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-eus-new-pact-on-migration-and-asylum-is-missing-a-true-foundation/ | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref> The deal was agreed to on 20 December 2023 between representatives of the elected [[European Parliament]] and the [[Council of the European Union]], made up of EU [[Minister (government)|government ministers]].<ref name="auto"/><ref name="l326">{{cite web | title=Migration policy: Council reaches agreement on key asylum and migration laws | website=Consilium | date=2023-06-08 | url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2023/06/08/migration-policy-council-reaches-agreement-on-key-asylum-and-migration-laws/ | access-date=2024-09-29}}</ref>
It passed the European Parliament on 10 April 2024, with narrow margins of around 30 votes on some provisions.<ref name="o834"/><ref name="h523">{{cite web | title=MEPs approve the new Migration and Asylum Pact | website=European Parliament | date=2024-04-10 | url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240408IPR20290/meps-approve-the-new-migration-and-asylum-pact | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref><ref name="t512">{{cite web | last=Jacqué | first=Philippe | title=European Parliament approves migration and asylum pact after years of deadlock | website=Le Monde.fr | date=2024-04-11 | url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/04/11/european-parliament-approves-migration-and-asylum-pact_6668051_4.html | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref> The Council of the European Union approved the Pact on 14 May 2024, with Hungary and Poland voting against it.<ref name="m887">{{cite web | last=Cook | first=Lorne | title=EU agrees on a new migration pact. Mainstream parties hope it will deprive the far right of votes | website=AP News | date=2024-05-14 | url=https://apnews.com/article/eu-migration-pact-asylum-borders-elections-44abb9c1fa1f2c7a8385167770bb5379 | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref><ref name="o848">{{cite web | title=The Council adopts the EU's pact on migration and asylum | website=Consilium | date=2024-05-14 | url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/05/14/the-council-adopts-the-eu-s-pact-on-migration-and-asylum/ | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref>
==Provisions==
The provisions of the Pact apply to migrants caught illegally crossing an [[External border of the European Union|external EU border]], such as those reaching the shores of Greece, Italy or Spain via the [[Mediterranean Sea]] or [[Atlantic Ocean]] on boats provided by smugglers; estimated at around 300,000 migrants in 2023.<ref name="m887"/> Provisions do not apply to legal migrants to the EU (~3.5 million in 2023) and migrants who arrived legally but overstayed their visas (~700,000 in 2023).<ref name="m887"/>
The Pact will mandate that the same procedures and procedural standards apply to all asylum applicants across EU member states.<ref name="j118"/> The Pact stipulates that migrants illegally entering the EU will undergo identity, health and security checks, including [[biometric reading]]s of faces and [[fingerprints]], within seven days, with information stored on the newly created Eurodac database. The outcome of screening will be either an application for international protection such as [[Asylum seeker|asylum]], or [[deportation]].<ref name="m887"/>
People seeking asylum will have to apply in the EU nation they first enter and remain there until the country responsible for their application is determined.<ref name="c785">{{cite web | title=New Pact on Migration and Asylum | website=Eucrim | date=2024-08-09 | first=Cornelia | last=Riehle | url=https://eucrim.eu/news/new-pact-on-migration-and-asylum/ | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref> Asylum seekers from countries whose nationals' applications are approved less than 20% of the time will be fast-tracked in detention centers close to EU borders.<ref name="b449"/><ref name="j118">{{cite web | title=The New Pact: A vital step for an effective and humane EU migration policy | website=EPC | date=2019-08-09 | url=https://www.epc.eu/en/Publications/The-New-Pact-A-vital-step-for-an-effective-and-humane-EU-migration-po~582a50 | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref> This procedure should be done in 12 weeks, including time for one legal appeal if an asylum application is rejected, with a possible extension of eight weeks.<ref name="m887"/> Migrants from countries with higher acceptance rates will be able to pass through the regular asylum procedure, which will be shortened from its current length of years.<ref name="q680"/> A deportation issue is set to be issued automatically if an asylum request is refused.<ref name="b449"/><ref name="m887"/> The Pact will allow for the speedier deportation of people to countries of origin or transit, if these have been declared safe.<ref name="q680">{{cite web | last=Riegert | first=Bernd | title=EU approves new migration pact| website=dw.com | date=2024-04-11 | url=https://www.dw.com/en/eu-approves-new-migration-pact/a-68798172 | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref>
The [[Dublin III Regulation]], which determines which member state is responsible for processing any individual asylum application, will be reformed.<ref name="b449"/> Countries where migrants first arrive will newly be able to relocate a total of up to 30,000 migrants per year to other EU member states.<ref name="i307"/><ref name="q680"/> The Pact will institute a "mandatory solidarity mechanism" where all EU countries must either physically host asylum seekers, or assist in other ways such as financially or by providing extra personnel. A country can pay 20,000 [[Euro]]s for every migrant it does not accept under the mechanism.<ref name="b449"/><ref name="o834">{{cite web | last=Genovese | first=Vincenzo | title=EU states must apply migration pact or face legal action: Commissioner | website=euronews | date=2024-04-11 | url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/04/11/eu-countries-not-enforcing-migration-pact-could-face-legal-action-says-johansson | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref>
Ireland and Denmark had opt-outs to the Pact. Ireland joined the Pact on 27 June 2024.<ref name="s706">{{cite web | title=EU's migration and asylum pact now includes Ireland | website=Eunews | date=2024-07-31 | url=https://www.eunews.it/en/2024/07/31/ireland-migration-and-asylum-pact-eu/ | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref>
==Reception==
===Support===
European Commission President [[Ursula von der Leyen]] said the Pact was a "huge achievement for Europe", and that it would deliver a "European solution" to migration by securing borders and increasing efficiency in processing [[asylum application]]s. [[President of the European Parliament]] [[Roberta Metsola]] of Malta said "We have delivered a robust legislative framework on how to deal with migration and asylum in the EU".<ref name="b449"/><ref name="b322"/>
[[Chancellor of Germany]] [[Olaf Scholz]] hailed the deal as a "historic, indispensable" step that "limits irregular migration and finally relieves the burden on the countries that are particularly badly affected".<ref name="b449"/> Migration Minister of Greece Dimitris Kairidis called the Pact a "major breakthrough".<ref name="b322">{{cite web | title=EU parliament adopts stricter migration rules in landmark asylum reform | website=France 24 | date=2024-04-10 | url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240410-eu-parliament-vote-stricter-migration-rules-landmark-asylum-reform | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref> The Pact was supported by the [[International Organization for Migration]].<ref name="z185">{{cite web | title=IOM Welcomes, Pledges Support to New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum | website=International Organization for Migration | date=2024-04-30 | url=https://www.iom.int/news/iom-welcomes-pledges-support-new-eu-pact-migration-and-asylum | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref>
===Criticism===
The Pact has been criticized by some [[right-wing]] politicians for not going far enough to prevent illegal immigration, such as missing provisions relating to migrant returns,<ref name="h774"/><ref name="f773">{{cite web | last=Pugnet | first=Aurélie | last2=Griera | first2=Max | last3=Bourgery-Gonse | first3=Théo | title=Asylum and Migration Pact faces tight last vote in EU Parliament | website=www.euractiv.com | date=2024-04-10 | url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/migration/news/asylum-and-migration-pact-faces-tight-last-vote-in-eu-parliament/ | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref> as well as for undermining [[national sovereignty]].<ref name="y299">{{cite web | last=O'Carroll | first=Lisa | title=EU passes asylum and migration pact after eight years of deadlock | website=the Guardian | date=2024-04-10 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/10/eu-passes-asylum-and-migration-pact-after-eight-years-of-deadlock | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref> Poland and Hungary opposed the Pact due to the obligations of hosting migrants,<ref name="m887"/> with [[Prime Minister of Poland]] [[Donald Tusk]] stating "we will protect Poland against the relocation mechanism" and [[Prime Minister of Hungary]] [[Viktor Orbán]] saying "Secure borders are no more, Hungary will never give in to the mass migration frenzy".<ref name="b449"/>
[[Left-wing]] critics of the Pact have said that it puts the human rights of asylum seekers at risk.<ref name="o834"/><ref name="q680"/> A group of human rights organizations including [[Oxfam]], [[Caritas Europa|Caritas]], [[Amnesty International]], and [[Save the Children]] have criticised the deal in an open letter stating that it would create a "cruel system".<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Henley |first1=Jon |date=December 20, 2023 |title=EU reaches asylum deal that rights groups say will create 'cruel system' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/20/eu-reaches-asylum-deal-human-rights-groups-cruel-system |work=[[The Guardian]] |via=theguardian.com}}</ref> More than 200 academics belonging to 66 predominantly European universities have called the Pact "inhumane" and demanded that the European Parliament and the Council to reconsider how they view the Pact.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-09 |title=Over 200 academics dub new EU border asylum law 'inhumane' |url=https://euobserver.com/migration/158061 |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=EUobserver |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tagliapietra |first=Alberto |date=February 21, 2024 |title=Outsourcing Responsibility: The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum {{!}} German Marshall Fund of the United States |url=https://www.gmfus.org/news/outsourcing-responsibility-eus-new-pact-migration-and-asylum |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=[[German Marshall Fund of the United States]] |language=en}}</ref>
In 2024 researchers like [[Gerald Knaus]] concluded, that the reform is unlikely to lead to a reduction in illegal immigration to the EU. Statutory exceptions reduce the number of people admissible in detention centers or qualifying for deportation. Only people who made false claims concerning their identity, those who pose a threat to national security and, if ascertainable at all, those who originate from countries with an asylum protection quota of under 20 percent will be allowed to be send to detention centers. Additionally the number of asylum claims which will be allowed to be assessed in detention centers is limited at 120,000 cases per year, while actual arrival numbers in the EU were around one million every year in the past years. Every asylum seeker will still have the [[Right to counsel]]. German politicians had reduced the option of deportating people to countries of transit by putting the exception into the EU Migration Pact, that these asylum seekers need to have a verifiable connection to those countries, making it substantially more difficult to send anybody back. Heiko Rehmann wrote, as long as everybody has the right to request asylum in Europe and each claim has be individually assessed, the problems will remain. Only a reform of the [[Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees]] would be able to change that.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-04 |title=Europas Asylwende: Was die GEAS-Reform für Flüchtlinge und Staaten bedeutet |url=https://www.focus.de/experts/migrationsexperte-heiko-rehmann-europas-asylwende-was-die-geas-reform-fuer-fluechtlinge-und-staaten-bedeutet_id_260367321.html |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=Focus (German magazine)|language=de}}</ref>
==Later developments==
In September 2024, the Netherlands and Hungary asked to opt out of the Pact,<ref name="j252">{{cite web | last=Ramsay | first=Max | last2=Simon | first2=Zoltan | title=Hungary Calls on EU to Rework Asylum Pact or Risk Its Collapse | website=Bloomberg.com | date=2024-09-24 | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-24/hungary-calls-on-eu-to-rework-asylum-pact-or-risk-its-collapse | access-date=2024-09-28 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20240924085108/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-24/hungary-calls-on-eu-to-rework-asylum-pact-or-risk-its-collapse | archive-date=2024-09-24}}</ref> while France said it was open to renegotiating its contents.<ref name="h774">{{cite web | last=Bourgery-Gonse | first=Théo | title=Paris hints at Migration Pact review and Schengen overhaul | website=www.euractiv.com | date=2024-09-24 | url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/migration/news/paris-hints-at-migration-pact-review-and-schengen-overhaul/ | access-date=2024-09-28}}</ref>
==Legislation==
The Pact resulted in the following ten pieces of legislation:<ref name="m887"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2024/05/14/the-council-adopts-the-eu-s-pact-on-migration-and-asylum/ |title=The Council adopts the EU's pact on migration and asylum |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14 |publisher=Council of the European Union |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Directive (EU) 2024/1346 (reception conditions directive)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1346/oj |title=Directive (EU) 2024/1346 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 (qualification regulation)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1347/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection and for the content of the protection granted, amending Council Directive 2003/109/EC and repealing Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 (asylum procedure regulation)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1348/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 establishing a common procedure for international protection in the Union and repealing Directive 2013/32/EU |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1349 (regulation establishing a return border procedure)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1349/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1349 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 establishing a return border procedure, and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1148 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1350 (regulation establishing a resettlement and humanitarian admission framework)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1350/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1350 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 establishing a Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework, and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1147 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 (asylum and migration management regulation)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1351/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on asylum and migration management, amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1147 and (EU) 2021/1060 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1352 (regulation on consistency amendments related to screening)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1352/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1352 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 amending Regulations (EU) 2019/816 and (EU) 2019/818 for the purpose of introducing the screening of third-country nationals at the external borders |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1356 (screening regulation)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1356/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1356 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 introducing the screening of third-country nationals at the external borders and amending Regulations (EC) No 767/2008, (EU) 2017/2226, (EU) 2018/1240 and (EU) 2019/817 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1358 (Eurodac regulation)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1358/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1358 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on the establishment of ‘Eurodac’ for the comparison of biometric data in order to effectively apply Regulations (EU) 2024/1351 and (EU) 2024/1350 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Directive 2001/55/EC and to identify illegally staying third-country nationals and stateless persons and on requests for the comparison with Eurodac data by Member States’ law enforcement authorities and Europol for law enforcement purposes, amending Regulations (EU) 2018/1240 and (EU) 2019/818 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) No 603/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14 |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
*Regulation (EU) 2024/1359 (regulation addressing situations of crisis and force majeure)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1359/oj |title=Regulation (EU) 2024/1359 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 addressing situations of crisis and force majeure in the field of migration and asylum and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1147 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2024-05-14  |publisher=EUR-Lex |access-date=2024-07-07}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Migration and asylum policy of the European Union]]
* [[2016 Hungarian migrant quota referendum]]
* [[2023 Polish referendum]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/pact-migration-and-asylum_en Pact on Migration and Asylum] webpage from the [[European Commission|Commission]] ([[Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs|DG HOME]])
[[Category:European Union asylum and immigration law]]