Less than six months ago, the European Union adopted a reform package aimed at correcting the glaring flaws in the common asylum system that emerged during the crisis years of 2015 and 2016, when the arrival of more than a million people overwhelmed ill-prepared authorities in various countries.
EU migration pact. 10 years of stormy negotiations
The EU's pact on migration and asylum was the culmination of almost 10 years of turbulent negotiations. It agreed on measures by 27 countries to spread the costs of receiving asylum seekers more evenly across the EU, but also to strengthen external border protection to stop people from reaching the EU.
Now, as far-right politicians exert increasing influence on the levers of power in European capitals, both directly in government and indirectly in opposition, the migration and asylum agreement seems more fragile than ever.
The Netherlands plans the “toughest migration policy in history”
In recent weeks, a number of countries that previously played a key role in pushing through the reform package, which is due to come into force in 2026, have announced tightening of their individual national asylum policies. France's new right-wing government, tacitly dependent on the support of the far-right National Rally, has announced plans to tighten its borders. Under pressure from the recent electoral successes of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the center-left coalition government in Berlin announced that it would increase controls at the EU's internal borders to control migration.
Last week, Dutch asylum minister Marjolein Faber, of the far-right PVV, announced plans for the “toughest migration policy in history.” But most controversially for the Netherlands' EU neighbors, Faber told the European Commission that she would seek to abandon the legally binding migration and asylum pact. Within days, Budapest announced similar ambitions, sparking short-lived fears of a domino effect.
Rhetoric versus reality
Ultimately, it quickly became clear that The Hague's demands would only come into force if the EU treaties were renegotiated, which was not going to happen any time soon. Theoretically, it is possible to obtain exemptions from EU law for certain policies (Denmark has such an exemption for migration policy), but obtaining such an exemption requires the consent of other countries to write it down in core EU law. As Alberto-Horst Neidhardt of the European Policy Center think tank explained, care must be taken to distinguish rhetoric from reality. “We are hearing more and more political statements trying to send a message to the national electorate,” Neidhardt told DW. – I would separate the governments' political declarations in recent weeks from the technical work on the pact, which is in full swing – he added.
Camille Le Coz, an expert from the Parisian think tank Migration Policy Institute, agrees with this opinion. “There is a disconnect between what is said and what is done,” she said. At the same time, “what is said publicly may have consequences for other countries.” For example, Greece was outraged by Germany's recent announcements to increase border controls. Across the continent, governments increasingly want to be seen as “tough” on migration. Many politicians fear that public opinion will accuse them of accepting EU rules that mean admitting more asylum seekers. Member states watch each other closely, and accusations of hypocrisy often do not take long to emerge.
Little chance of refugee relocation
Over the next two years, each country will have to make changes to its national law. Under the new rules, asylum seekers and refugees will be subject to more thorough checks within seven days of arriving in the EU. They also allow some applicants to be detained at the external borders and assessed under a fast-track procedure to enable faster deportation in the event of failure.
But for far-right politicians like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the most controversial part of the bill is a mechanism that obliges all EU member states to accept approved refugees from other member states in order to distribute new arrivals more evenly. Under EU rules, asylum applications should be made in the country of arrival, a system some say is not fair to southern border countries such as Italy and Greece. If other member states refuse to relocate, there are expected to be thousands of them each year, they will have to make a financial contribution of €600 million a year or offer logistical support. The Netherlands, for example, will likely choose to contribute financially or logistically rather than accept relocations, migration expert Neidhardt said. This would not be the same as an actual waiver, which would take years to negotiate. – The Netherlands remains bound by the rules that have just been agreed, stressed Neidhardt.
How close is the EU's asylum policy to collapse?
The Migration and Asylum Pact is a compromise that has satisfied no one: be it anti-immigration hardliners such as the Hungarian government, states on the EU's external borders such as Greece, or most common destination countries such as Germany. Perhaps the least enthused were defenders of the rights of asylum seekers and migrants, who pointed out that the deal would do nothing to stop the thousands of people dying every year crossing the Mediterranean and would dismantle the right to seek asylum itself.
According to Neidhardt, despite what EU governments say publicly, they realize the pact is “too big to fail.” – If the pact collapsed, it would mean the end of the common European asylum system, he said, adding that “it is not in the interest of any of the member states, regardless of whether we are talking about Germany, the Netherlands or other countries.” In fact, the tightening of EU asylum policy began even before the adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, and even preceded the rise of the influence of the far right in capitals from Stockholm to Rome. First of all, for years now the EU has been spending more and more money on border protection and transferring more and more funds to the main countries of origin of refugees. All this to stop people from looking for a new life in the EU.
A long road to reform
According to Camille Le Coz of the Migration Policy Institute, the Migration and Asylum Pact, which has been in the works for many years, remains the best way for member states to deal with migration management. She warned that the European Commission's priority must now be to provide member states with the necessary “political support” so that this process is not stopped. – The main reason why we have this common European asylum system is related to the Schengen area and freedom of movement – she recalled. According to Le Coz, it remains to be seen whether this “fragile” agreement will be able to hold. The first milestones are already approaching. By the end of the year, all Member States should finalize their implementation plans.
The article comes from Deutsche Welle. The author of the text is Ella Joyner.