Why the EU’s tougher new migration pact is good for Indians
The European Commission recently approved regulations making it tougher for unintended immigrants to settle down in the European Union. Collectively known as the new EU Pact on Migration, the rules are aimed at restricting the number of new immigrants into the EU, even as member states recognize the need for new workers given the number of ageing individuals. The net result, perversely, might well be an increase in the legal flow of skilled immigrants, such as medical or information technology professionals.
The EU, in fact, wants to encourage such professionals to move into its member states. This would make it easier for many skilled Indians to emigrate. However, a few leaders of EU nations, such as Hungary’s Viktor Orban, are sceptical of the new rules, insisting on a hardline approach of severe restrictions on immigration.
This is at odds with a warning issued by Amnesty International, which holds that the new rules would increase human suffering among would-be immigrants. The Human Rights Watch worries that the new rules would strip asylum seekers of legal aid, fingerprint children as young as six years, and incentivise frontline states such as Greece, Italy and Spain to ignore migrant-bearing boats in distress at sea, or ever push those making successful sea crossings to Europe back into the sea. The new rules propose a solidarity mechanism to distribute the burden of processing asylum applications across EU member states, instead of being concentrated in the frontline states.
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