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The EU has struck a political deal to overhaul the bloc’s asylum and migration rules, concluding more than seven years of fraught negotiations over how to tighten the regime and share responsibility.
The reforms, provisionally agreed by the European parliament and negotiators for EU member states, fall well short of the original ambitions to remake how Europe handled asylum in the wake of the 2015 migration crisis.
But the package of measures would establish a new common framework for applications that clarifies the responsibilities of member states, from the screening of migrants through to removals and the financial costs of hosting applicants.
European parliament president Roberta Metsola hailed a “historic day”, referring to “probably the most important legislative deal” of this election term.
“It is not a perfect package on the table and it does not look at the solutions to all complex issues. But what we do have on the table is far better for all of us,” Metsola said.
The pressure to agree on the reforms has been mounting as far-right parties have capitalised on an increased number of asylum applications in the EU this year, and politicians have scrambled to finalise negotiations ahead of next year’s European elections.
The reforms were first proposed in 2016 following a million-strong movement of migrants into Europe, notably from Syria. But negotiations had been gridlocked for years as EU leaders fought over the distribution of migrants, often in bad-tempered late-night summits.
To reach an agreement, the European parliament negotiators had to give ground to demands from member states to make the regime more restrictive. Some of the technical details of the compromise deal will still need to be settled.
“Getting a compromise, getting a deal, also means giving up on some points,” said Fabienne Keller, the lawmaker who led negotiations on harmonised asylum procedures.
The reform does not significantly overhaul the so-called Dublin system, which mandates that people should seek protection in the EU country they enter first, putting a larger burden on countries such as Italy and Greece.
Rather than requiring asylum seekers to be moved from southern to northern countries with fewer arrivals, such relocation will now be voluntary. Member states who refuse to take more migrants can instead pay financial compensation, either to a member state hosting higher numbers or to non-EU countries supporting efforts to reduce migration flows.
The reform will require member states to process certain asylum seekers in facilities near the EU’s external borders within three months. This can include families with children, which the parliamentarians had fought to exclude but failed.
The agreement comes after two days and two nights of tough negotiations, and with several technical details still to be agreed in the new year, MEPs said.
If arrivals are judged to have reached crisis levels, the hardest-hit member states will be allowed to waive some of the requirements of the law. This was a key demand of countries such as Italy, who sought references to the impact of humanitarian charities that rescue people at sea.
“We have now finally a recognition that we have member states that are under a special migratory pressure due to [search and rescue],” said Tomas Tobé, the MEP leading negotiations on one of the laws.
Human rights organisations have criticised the reforms agreed, warning they could curtail access to asylum and undermine human rights. “The pact will almost certainly cause more people to be put into de facto detention at EU borders,” said Eve Geddie, head of Amnesty International’s EU office.
After the compromise is finalised, it still needs to be adopted by the European parliament and the member states before it can enter into force, which is not expected before 2025.
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