Posted on Dec 20, 2023
The EU agrees on a migration deal, but critics warn of possible rights abuses
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https://www.npr.org/2023/12/20/ [login to see] /eu-migration-deal-asylum
European Union leaders and top officials hailed on Wednesday a major breakthrough in talks on new rules to control migration, but critics said the reforms will weaken the rights of asylum-seekers and encourage more morally dubious deals with countries that people leave to get to Europe.
After overnight talks, visibly exhausted EU lawmakers emerged expressing relief that agreement was found "on the core political elements" of the Pact on Asylum and Migration — a major overhaul of rules that many hope will address the challenges posed by migrant arrivals over the last decade.
"It's truly a historic day," said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, flanked by lawmakers responsible for the key parts of the agreement. With migration likely to be a hot campaign issue ahead of EU elections next June, Metsola said, it was vital to make a breakthrough.
European Union leaders and top officials hailed on Wednesday a major breakthrough in talks on new rules to control migration, but critics said the reforms will weaken the rights of asylum-seekers and encourage more morally dubious deals with countries that people leave to get to Europe.
After overnight talks, visibly exhausted EU lawmakers emerged expressing relief that agreement was found "on the core political elements" of the Pact on Asylum and Migration — a major overhaul of rules that many hope will address the challenges posed by migrant arrivals over the last decade.
"It's truly a historic day," said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, flanked by lawmakers responsible for the key parts of the agreement. With migration likely to be a hot campaign issue ahead of EU elections next June, Metsola said, it was vital to make a breakthrough.
The EU agrees on a migration deal, but critics warn of possible rights abuses
Posted from npr.org
European Union
Immigration
Refugees
Rights
Human Rights
Posted 5 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."A deal with Tunisia, where authorities have been accused of dumping migrants in the desert, was a recent example. Italy has also concluded a bilateral agreement to send people to Albania, but that faces legal challenges. The EU is in talks with Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Nigeria, among others.
Rights groups warned that Wednesday's agreement will only entrench that kind of thinking.
Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International's European Institutions Office, said that it "will set back European asylum law for decades to come," and "cause more people to be put into de-facto detention at EU borders, including families with children and people in vulnerable situations."
"States will be able to simply pay to strengthen external borders, or fund countries outside the EU to prevent people from reaching Europe," Geddie added.
Oxfam's EU migration expert Stephanie Pope worried that the pact would encourage "more detention, including of children and families in prison-like centers. They have also slammed the door on those seeking asylum with substandard procedures, fast-tracked deportation and gambled with people's lives."
The secretary general of the Caritas Europa charity group, Maria Nyman, said the deal shows that EU countries "prefer to shift their asylum responsibility to non-EU countries, prevent arrivals and speed up return, exposing migrants to human rights violations."
..."A deal with Tunisia, where authorities have been accused of dumping migrants in the desert, was a recent example. Italy has also concluded a bilateral agreement to send people to Albania, but that faces legal challenges. The EU is in talks with Egypt, Iraq, Morocco and Nigeria, among others.
Rights groups warned that Wednesday's agreement will only entrench that kind of thinking.
Eve Geddie, Director of Amnesty International's European Institutions Office, said that it "will set back European asylum law for decades to come," and "cause more people to be put into de-facto detention at EU borders, including families with children and people in vulnerable situations."
"States will be able to simply pay to strengthen external borders, or fund countries outside the EU to prevent people from reaching Europe," Geddie added.
Oxfam's EU migration expert Stephanie Pope worried that the pact would encourage "more detention, including of children and families in prison-like centers. They have also slammed the door on those seeking asylum with substandard procedures, fast-tracked deportation and gambled with people's lives."
The secretary general of the Caritas Europa charity group, Maria Nyman, said the deal shows that EU countries "prefer to shift their asylum responsibility to non-EU countries, prevent arrivals and speed up return, exposing migrants to human rights violations."
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