Europe is once again arguing about migration. In Brussels, the majority of EU countries have now voted in favour of tightening asylum procedures. All information in the news ticker.
- Asylum reform at EU summit? Much depends on Germany.
- Point of contention in preliminary talks: Large majority against the Greens' proposal.
- This news ticker for the meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg is constantly updated.
Update from June 8, 23:35 p.m.: According to the EU Commission, the new plans for a significant tightening of asylum procedures in the European Union are also intended to enable far-reaching cooperation projects with non-EU countries. According to the responsible Commissioner Ylva Johansson late on Thursday evening, rejected asylum seekers can in principle be deported to non-EU countries in the future. The only requirement should be that they have a connection to this country. What this must look like should be at the discretion of the EU member states responsible for the respective asylum procedure.
The German government had actually made a strong case for not recognising a mere transit stay in a third country as a connection, but only, for example, by family members living in the country. However, this demand had to be abandoned on Thursday in the course of negotiations in order to allow an agreement on the plans for asylum reform. If it is adopted, Italy, for example, could send people coming back to the country via the Mediterranean if the government in Tunis agrees. In order to persuade them to agree, financial support could be provided, for example.
A statement on the agreement also sets out the conditions under which authorities in the EU can declare asylum applications inadmissible without a detailed examination. This should therefore be possible if they are provided by refugees who have entered via a safe third country. The prerequisite for this should be that people could also be granted effective protection in this safe third country.
Asylum reform: Habeck backs EU agreement
Update from June 8, 23:12 p.m.: Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck defends the EU asylum agreement despite all reservations. "The fact that the EU can still come together is a value, especially at a time when we have to stand together as a Union," said the Green politician on Thursday evening of the German Press Agency in Berlin. "I have great respect for those who come to different assessments for humanitarian reasons. I hope they also see that there are reasons to recognize this result."
The compromise, which Habeck called very painful, was "the result of hard struggle and difficult considerations." In particular, he regretted that families should not be exempted from preliminary asylum checks at the EU's borders. He very much hopes that improvements could be achieved in the upcoming negotiations between representatives of the EU member states, the European Parliament and the EU Commission on the reform. "In any case, it remains our task to continue to fight for humanity."
In recent days, Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (also Greens) have campaigned for families with children to be exempted from border procedures.
"Without Germany's efforts, the result would be worse," Habeck said. "Because we must not deceive ourselves: the situation at the external borders has been a misery for years, other states are pursuing a restrictive course and the danger of falling back into nationalism is great - and that certainly doesn't make it any better."
0
Also Read
Dam blowing up as an own goal? Expert explains water dilemma for Russian army
READ
Tank attacks launched: Ukrainian offensive breaks through Putin's front line
READ
"China is not happy about what is going on in Ukraine"
READ
In the event of war: by no means all Germans find refuge in the bunker
READ
"Can show how sick we are": Prigozhin speculates about tactical nuclear strike in Belgorod
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
EU asylum agreement: Prime Minister Kretschmann defends reform
Update from June 8, 22:46 p.m.: Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann has defended the European Union's compromise for stricter asylum procedures. The Green politician said on Thursday evening that he had great respect for the federal government, which had always relied on the balance in these difficult negotiations and had now agreed to the agreement at the end. "Behind this are difficult political and ethical trade-offs between the restrictive attitudes of many member states and the improvements in the distribution of refugees and the safeguarding of minimum standards just demanded by Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock."
Kretschmann explained: "Failure to act would have worse consequences for a humanitarian refugee policy, because it would inevitably have meant the return of a policy of nation states with many, sometimes humanitarian, questionable individual solutions. Failure to reach an agreement would have led to the EU's inability to act in these stressful times and on this difficult issue."
At a meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg, a sufficiently large majority of member states had previously voted in favour of comprehensive reform plans. In particular, they provide for a much harsher approach to migrants with no prospect of staying. The Greens' leadership assessed the agreement differently.
Tightening of asylum laws: Greens divided after agreement on EU reform
Update from June 8, 22:06 p.m.: Green Party leaders Omid Nouripur and Ricarda Lang have different views on the EU's agreement on stricter asylum procedures. While Nouripour spoke on Thursday evening of a difficult but necessary step, Lang said Germany should not have agreed to the reform plans.
At a meeting of Community interior ministers in Luxembourg, a sufficiently large majority of Member States had previously voted in favour of comprehensive reform plans. In particular, they provide for a much harsher approach to migrants with no prospect of staying.
Even at the insistence of Germany, there are improvements such as the exception for unaccompanied minors, Lang wrote on Twitter. However, key points had not been achieved. "For example, there will be no fundamental exception for children in border procedures, and a mandatory distribution mechanism could not be achieved, despite progress in solidarity and distribution." Lang concluded: "That is why I come to the conclusion that Germany should not have agreed to the proposal for CEAS reform in the Council today." CEAS stands for Common European Asylum System.
Greens leaders divided on assessment of EU asylum agreement
Nouripour acknowledged mixed assessments and regretted that key objectives had not been achieved. At the same time, however, he also spoke of "clear improvements" on Twitter. "There is a lot to discuss and we will continue to do so - in solidarity and respectfully - as we have always done as Greens. Overall, I conclude that today's approval is a necessary step to move forward together in Europe."
The Greens' parliamentary group chairmen Britta Haßelmann and Katharina Dröge also assessed the agreement differently.
The federal spokeswoman for the Green Youth, Sarah-Lee Heinrich, was "stunned" after the agreement. On Twitter, she wrote: "Isolation does not ensure that fewer people flee. It means more people are suffering."
Update from June 8, 20:45 p.m.: In the context of the negotiations on stricter asylum procedures of the European Union in Brussels, there has now been a breakthrough. A large majority of the member states voted for much stricter asylum procedures, as the broadcaster ntv reported. The states agree to appropriate reform plans to tighten the procedures and thus take tougher action against illegal migration.
Update from June 8, 16:55 p.m.: The Greens' federal executive committee is distancing itself from the EU Commission's plan to carry out asylum checks at the Union's external borders in fast-track procedures, if possible. We take a critical view of the "tightening of border procedures at the external borders" planned as part of the reform of the asylum system, according to a guiding motion by the executive committee for the small party congress of the Greens on June 17 in Bad Vilbel. This was first reported by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.
However, the text admits that such concessions may be a prerequisite for improvements elsewhere: "However, we note that they are a prerequisite for a relevant part of the member states in the EU to be able to negotiate improvements, for example a functioning solidarity mechanism for the distribution of refugees in Europe."
"The ever-increasing expansion of border fortifications cannot be a solution," the Greens further emphasize. Emphasis is placed on "a right to a trial based on the rule of law" for refugees. In addition, there must be special protection for families with minor children and other particularly vulnerable groups. The Greens reject an expansion of the list of so-called safe third countries. In addition, the Greens are pushing for an end to illegal pushbacks at the EU's external borders. Family reunification is to be simplified and accelerated. In general, the Greens advocate an open approach to migration. "It offers opportunities and brings challenges. We are facing up to this task," the motion reads.
Update from June 8, 12:45 p.m.: The leader of the Left Party, Janine Wissler, has sharply criticised the compromise proposal for a reform of EU asylum law. The German government is once again threatening to attack the human right to asylum, Wissler told the German Press Agency on Thursday after the ministerial meeting began in Luxembourg. The planned border procedures are not "historical momentum, but prisons in front of the walls of Europe, in which inhumane conditions threaten and which are incompatible with human rights," she said. "It would be fatal if refugees were at the mercy of radical right-wing governments like Italy." Any Green or Social Democrat who supports such decisions rejects human rights and solidarity.
Asylum reform at EU summit? "It's very difficult for Germany"
Update from June 8, 11:00 a.m.: Shortly before the start of EU consultations on a major reform of the European asylum system, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser left open whether she could agree to the proposals on the table. "There is a compromise on the table, which is very difficult for us in Germany," said the SPD politician on Thursday on her arrival to the Council of Interior Ministers in Luxembourg. She is fighting to ensure that families with small children do not come into the planned border procedure. "For us as Germany, human rights standards are at the forefront," she stressed.
The question of whether the planned tightening of asylum laws in the traffic light coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP was a point of contention, Faeser denied in the morning. "So it's not a point of contention because we have a common position as a traffic light," she said. This provides for high human rights standards and for the protection of children. When asked how the German government will position itself if its struggle is not successful, Faeser did not answer.
Asylum summit: Faeser warns against Germany going it alone
Update from June 8, 8:25 a.m.: German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has warned of a weakening of the Schengen area if the EU meeting on a reform of the European asylum system fails this Thursday. "I'm afraid that if we don't get a common asylum system, then we will fall back into nation-statehood," said the SPD politician on Thursday in the ARD "morning magazine". It is likely that Schengen with open borders will no longer be possible. There is a lot at stake, one must "save the Europe of open borders," Faeser also said in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) published on Thursday.
"During the Corona pandemic, we saw how serious internal border controls are, for example at our border with France. What if the nurse who commutes across the border no longer comes?" asked the Minister of the Interior. In addition, she warned against an isolated German path and emphasized the high value of the right of asylum in the constitution. "Anyone who wants to touch the right of asylum is playing the dirty game of the AfD and pushing boundaries that must not be moved," the interior minister told RND.
EU summit aims to launch major reform of Europe's asylum system
First reported on 7 June: LUXEMBOURG – When European Union interior ministers meet on Thursday (8 June), nothing less than asylum reform will be at stake. This is an ongoing issue of contention within the EU. "Each member state does what it wants," SPD migration politician Birgit Sippel once told our editorial team. The EU is divided above all on responsibility at the EU's external borders and on the rules for distribution. Now – once again – many things are about to change.
Asylum reform at EU summit? A lot depends on Germany
On the table are draft legislative texts drawn up by the current Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union on the basis of proposals from the EU Commission. In particular, they provide for a much more rigid approach to migrants with no prospect of staying. In addition, solidarity with particularly heavily burdened member states at the EU's external borders will no longer be voluntary, but mandatory.
The previous distribution system seems to have failed. Italy, one of the countries that takes in the most refugees in percentage terms, regularly criticises the current situation. The "mechanism of solidarity" does not work, informs the Italian Ministry of the Interior at the request of IPPEN. MEDIA. After all, countries that do not want to take in refugees, such as Hungary, would be forced to pay compensation according to the current EU plan.
It was unclear until Wednesday evening whether a sufficiently large majority of countries would support the legislative proposals at the meeting in Luxembourg. As the German Press Agency reports, a lot apparently depends on the position of the German government. Diplomats would keep a close eye on the voices from Berlin. In this country, there was an increase in asylum applications in 2023. According to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf), 125,556 people applied for asylum for the first time in the first five months. That was almost 77 percent more than in the same period last year. Most of those seeking protection came from Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey.
This is how the vote on asylum reform is going
A decision on the plans requires 15 out of 27 member states to vote yes, and together they must represent at least 65% of the EU's total population. If there is no sufficiently large majority, the negotiations would have to be continued once again.
If the EU Council of Ministers does not take a decision by the summer break, there is unlikely to be any chance of bringing the reform project across the finish line in the foreseeable future. The reason is that there must also be negotiations with the European Parliament about it. These could take months – then there may not be enough time to complete the project before the European elections in June 2024.
Point of contention in preliminary talks: Large majority against Green proposal
At the insistence of the Greens, the German government had demanded in the preliminary talks for the meeting of interior ministers that families with children be exempted from new strict border procedures. However, a very large majority of the other states vehemently rejected this because they see such a regulation as a deterrent character. There were also critical voices from the FDP. On top of that, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) also seems to want to stick to the previous EU plans – although some SPD deputies criticize. In a letter, they denounce that the EU proposals "could weaken the right to asylum." The letter is available to the Münchner Merkur.
Meanwhile, the Greens are facing the biggest headwind – from their own party base. In a letter from 730 members, which is available to our editors, the signatories criticize the "German negotiating position". It is not covered by the coalition agreement. In the letter, the signatories complain, among other things, of a course of "deterrence and isolation" as well as plans for a "massive curtailment of the right of asylum".
Migration researchers in Germany criticized the reform plans. "The major reform will deepen the migration policy crisis and divide Europe," said Bernd Kasparek of the Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research. However, it is uncertain whether the reform will come at all. (as/dpa)
