EU tightens immigration rules on asylum seekers
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The European Union struck on Wednesday an agreement to tighten immigration rules, making it easier to deport failed asylum seekers and hold families in detention centers on the bloc’s external borders.
The agreement promises to overhaul how the bloc processes migrants and paves the way for rapid assessments at borders.
Those deemed to have the lowest chance of being granted the right to stay, including families with women and children, will be processed at facilities near the bloc’s external frontiers within three months.
Before that, authorities will have just seven days to determine the status of any asylum seekers.
Member states away from the major points of arrival will be expected to house asylum seekers to ease the burden on southern Europe.
European countries that refuse to take in migrants can instead pay financial compensation to other EU countries hosting more asylum seekers or contribute to the cost of programmes in third countries.
The deal came after two days and nights of negotiations between the EU’s Parliament, Commission and Council.
The overhaul was first proposed in 2016, when more than one million migrants arrived in Europe, many escaping wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
During 2023, more than 355,000 illegal migrants entered the bloc, the highest number since 2016.
Before the agreement can fully come into force, it must first be approved in a vote by both the European Council and Parliament.
However, the bloc’s Migration Pact is not expected to be fully operational until 2026, after the European elections next year.