During the meeting of the EU ministers participating in the Justice and Home Affairs Council, an agreement was reached in principle on the pillars and the next steps for the adoption of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. From the Greek side, the acting Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Daniel Esdras, and the General Secretary of Migration Policy, Patroklos Georgiadis, participated in the meeting in Luxembourg.

As stated in a statement by the Ministry of Immigration, the new text creates a mandatory solidarity mechanism, ensures permanent decongestion at the borders and adapts the commitments of the Dublin Regulation to the particular characteristics of frontline countries such as Greece. It also supports the concept of safe third countries. In addition, the agreement establishes an annual political debate, at the ministerial level, which will put on the carpet the migration situation and the needs that exist in terms of solidarity, something that Greece has traditionally put forward.

At the same time, there was a substantial renegotiation of the way in which responsibility is shared, through the Dublin Regulation. Greece fought for a new criterion to be included in the new Regulation, which stipulates that the responsibility for examining an asylum application will end in 18 months, up from 10 years as of today, when the application is rejected in border asylum procedures. They are the procedures that Greece implements with speed and efficiency in order to distinguish those who really need protection from those who abuse the asylum system and undermine its sustainability. A new, special category was also provided for those rescued from search and rescue operations. Overall, however, the new system responds better to the facts that Greece is facing, the competent ministry estimates in its announcement.

Another very important point, according to the migration ministry, is that Greece has ensured provisions that prevent the country’s border areas from being overloaded by pressures related to asylum procedures and has guaranteed that the national security factor will be taken into account when planning and infrastructure development, related to these processes.

The agreement is only one step towards the end of the road, which is the adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum which consists of 11 pieces of legislation.

The Council gave the mandate to Spain, which will exercise the next European Presidency, to negotiate the completion of two crucial Regulations, concerning solidarity, the sharing of responsibility and the strengthening of controls at the borders of the EU.