The legislative package to reform the European immigration and asylum policy based on the December agreement was passed by the plenary of the European Parliament.

The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzola, spoke of a historic decision, who said “we have delivered a strong legislative framework on how to deal with immigration and asylum in the EU”.

“After almost a decade of deadlock, the European Parliament has voted to adopt the Pact on Migration and Asylum – the complete overhaul of EU immigration law. Europe will manage migration in an orderly way and on our own terms,” ​​said the vice-president of the Commission, Margaritis Schinas.

For her part, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson noted that today’s vote of the European Parliament is a great achievement. “We will be able to better protect our external borders, the vulnerable and refugees, those who do not have the right to stay will be returned quickly, with mandatory solidarity between member states.”

The legislative package to reform the European migration and asylum policy provides for the strengthening of EU border controls and a mandatory solidarity mechanism.

Following the provisional agreement reached at the end of December between the European Parliament and the Council, the new Pact on Migration and Asylum will have to be approved by the European Parliament and then passed by the Council before becoming law.

The reform is based on the proposal presented by the European Commission in September 2020. The EU has been seeking to reform and improve immigration and asylum procedures since the 2015 crisis. For several years, member states have failed to find common ground, resulting in countries of first entry, such as Greece and Italy, bear the brunt. It is perhaps the “most important legislative package of this legislative period”, the President of the EP, Roberta Metzola, has admitted.

The new EU migration policy legislation sets out how to jointly manage asylum and migration between member states and deal with migration crises. The new rules regulate how people arriving at the EU’s external borders are treated, the processing of asylum claims and the identification of those arriving.

The new regulation provides for mandatory solidarity for EU countries under migratory pressure, allowing other member states to choose between relocating asylum seekers to their territory and contributing financially. New criteria are also defined according to which a Member State is responsible for examining applications for international protection (formerly the Dublin rules).