Despite the recent agreement on a major reform, a long-standing point of contention in the EU is once again taking center stage: the common asylum policy. There are many different ideas.
The EU states want to speed up the deportation of rejected asylum seekers. To this end, the European Commission under President Ursula von der Leyen should present a revision of the current laws as quickly as possible, the 27 heads of state and government decided at an EU summit in Brussels.
Poland also received support. Prime Minister Donald Tusk had announced that he wanted to temporarily suspend the right to access to asylum procedures in response to migrants smuggled towards the EU from Russia and Belarus.
The EU states agreed that exceptional situations would require appropriate measures. Solidarity is expressed with Poland and the Member States that would face these challenges. Von der Leyen noted that such measures would fit within the legal framework if they were “temporary in nature” and proportionate.
Scholz: “Very constructive atmosphere”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized that one cannot ignore the fact that bad things are happening at these borders and that extraordinary efforts are therefore necessary. “And anyone who denies the Polish government the right to deal with the problem is not acting responsibly,” said the SPD politician in a press conference after the summit. At the same time, he restricted the fact that one had to operate within the legal framework of the European Union.
Overall, Scholz spoke of a constructive migration debate. “I have taken part in several such debates in Europe too,” he said. These were often excited and long. “It was completely different this time. I noticed a very constructive atmosphere.”
Controversy over asylum procedures in third countries
However, the EU states were unable to agree on a common language on many aspects of curbing irregular migration. Asylum procedures in third countries outside the EU, such as those carried out by Italy in Albania since this week, were controversially discussed. Italy is the first EU country to accommodate refugees in camps outside the EU. There, their applications will be examined by Italian officials in a fast-track procedure: those who are entitled to asylum can continue to Italy; If you are rejected, you have to go back.
Scholz expressed skepticism about the initiative. As justification, he said that logistically only a small number of asylum procedures could be outsourced. Last year, more than 300,000 migrants came to Germany irregularly. “Sometimes 1,000, sometimes 2,000” is not enough if you want to significantly reduce this number.
Criticism of German border controls
The discussion is fueled by national solo efforts in recent weeks and months. Several EU partners recently expressed a lack of understanding of the federal government’s decision to order controls at all German land borders after the terrorist attack at a city festival in Solingen.
The Netherlands and Hungary, meanwhile, would prefer to completely withdraw from the common asylum rules. The EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, pointed out that this would not be possible without changing the fundamental European treaties.
Implementing asylum reform takes time
The background to the current debate is that the EU asylum reform passed in the spring is viewed by many member states as inadequate. Many doubt that it can solve the current problems. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticized at the EU summit that the reform did not address the issue of returns: “We cannot accept that we are not taking effective care of those who are not entitled to protection status in the European Union.”
In addition, the implementation of the asylum reform could take until June 2026 due to the transition period. Chancellor Scholz called for accelerated implementation in Brussels. It is important to him that the agreement between the 27 EU states “is not just implemented gradually, but is accelerated,” he said. “In Germany we will submit the necessary laws to the German Bundestag very quickly, but it would be good if this could be introduced earlier everywhere in Europe.”
Countries like Italy and Greece should be relieved
With the controversial reform, member states are obliged to have uniform procedures at the external borders so that it can be quickly determined whether asylum applications are unfounded and the refugees can then be deported more quickly and directly from the external border. After crossing the border, people arriving from countries that are considered safe should be taken to strictly controlled reception facilities under prison-like conditions.
In addition, it should be ensured that some of the asylum seekers will be taken away from heavily burdened countries such as Italy and Greece in the future. Countries that do not want to accept refugees should be forced to make compensation payments.
Situation in Ukraine
At the summit of the heads of state and government of the 27 EU countries, discussions about migration were only one topic alongside questions about the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East. The guest was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who sought support for his plan to win against Russia.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
