EU countries overcome key obstacle in yearslong plan to overhaul the bloc's asylum rules
European Union countries have overcame a new obstacle in their yearslong quest to overhaul the bloc’s asylum rules
BRUSSELS — European Union countries on Wednesday overcame a major obstacle in their yearslong quest to overhaul the bloc’s asylum rules amid warnings that time is running out to clinch agreement on the entire scheme before next year’s EU elections.
EU envoys clinched a deal on a “crisis regulation” of extraordinary measures that a country could take in the event of a massive, unforeseen movement of migrants toward its borders. It means that the 27 member countries now have a negotiating position to take into talks with the EU parliament.
Wednesday’s deal would involve setting up processing centers on the EU’s outside borders where people would be screened when they arrive and includes the option to detain people until their asylum claims are assessed.
“Today we have achieved a huge step forward on a critical issue for the future of the EU,” said Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, whose country currently holds the bloc’s rotating presidency.
He said it could allow the EU to seal the so-called New Pact on Asylum and Migration by year’s end.
The pact was touted as the answer to the EU’s migration woes when it was made public in September 2020. The bloc’s old rules collapsed in 2015 after well over 1 million people arrived in Europe without authorization. Most were fleeing war in Syria or Iraq.
But little progress was made on the pact as the member states bickered over which country should take charge of migrants when they arrive and whether other countries should be obligated to help.
Instead, the EU focused on outsourcing the challenge by clinching morally questionable agreements with
Read more on abcnews.go.com
