The new European Pact for Migration and Asylum will have devastating humanitarian consequences

The European Parliament on 10 April voted in plenary composition the adoption of the new Pact for migration and asylum:the approved rules will be formally adopted, after the European Council has approved them, by June 2024.It is the end of a journey that began four years ago.The European Commission's 2020 legislative proposal was born with the aim of outlining a common European framework for the management of migration and asylum, with various legislative proposals. At the end of last year, the Council and the European Parliament had reached a provisional agreement, but that already he marked the direction of the Union's policy, sui five key pillars:the regulation on the management of asylum and migration, the response to migratory crises, asylum procedures, the implementation of the European Dactyloscopie (Eurodac) and the new screening procedures.

The enthusiasm of the European institutions for a vote they define as "historic"

History made.

We have delivered a robust legislative framework on how to deal with migration and asylum in the EU.

It has been more than ten years in the making.But we kept our word.

A balance between solidarity and responsibility.

This is the European way. pic.twitter.com/OW24Y8cv1k

— Roberta Metsola (@EP_President) April 10, 2024

The vote on 10 April is the culmination of a legislative journey that began in September 2020 and even earlier in 2015 with the first agreement on migration and asylum;the results obtained echo the gradual shift to the right of the political balance of almost all member states.Before the final vote there were many internal discussions, both in Brussels and at national level, in which there was no shortage of criticism that this legislation further fuels the agenda of the far right, rather than protecting vulnerable people.

The new European pact does not resolve the migrant crisis and endangers the right to asylum

Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs and the political driving force behind the agreement, has declared instead of reforms aimed at “managing immigration in an orderly manner”, the 27 member countries have taken a step towards neutralizing the populist far right.The European Commissioner, the face of this proposal together with Vice President Margaritis Schinas, has written on

Only the Green Party expressed deep concern with some statements on the protection of human rights and the integrity of the right to asylum."The Compact will reinforce existing problems by disproportionately focusing on deterrence, including through the widespread detention of people and children, while reducing their rights.It will shift more and more responsibility to third countries and more financial resources to autocratic governments and warlords," he told Euronews Philippe Lamberts, co-president of the Greens.

What the Pact provides and the consequences on those arriving in Europe

The approved agreement will mean, in general, an even more security policy regarding reception and will still leave a margin of discretion to the member states.In addition to the regulations of the five pillars of the Pact, MEPs have stated on several occasions that they strongly believe in the externalization of borders for the right to asylum and in forcefully combating human traffickers.

The Italian agreement with Albania and the dehumanization of migrants in Europe

More specifically, the five main points of the legislative package first of all provide for a crackdown on the control of the personal data of migrant people.The regulation on screening provides procedures for the initial identification of migrant persons arriving irregularly in the EU, including the collection of biometric data (this includes fingerprints, palm prints, facial and voice recognition, etc.).The pre-entry verification procedures must last a maximum of 7 days.As a result, the application of the necessary procedure will be decreed:repatriation at the border, repatriation far away or acceptance of asylum. As he points out the jurist Vitalba Azzollini on - some coercion may also be used against them."

The rules Eurodac, instead, updates the database rules with the biometric evidence collected during the screening process, to avoid multiple asylum requests from the same person.It is not clear how long the data will be kept by the authorities, or whether, for example, there will be control over the ways (for example, the use of violence) in which this information will be obtained.

The third pillar is the one on the concrete organization of flows and of the so-called compulsory solidarity.The Regulation identifies which Member State is responsible for managing an asylum application, partially modifying the system established by the previous one Dublin Agreement.The responsibility of the State of first entry will last 20 months, 12 for people rescued at sea.Furthermore, a system of cooperation and solidarity between Member States is envisaged when one of the States finds itself in a situation of pressure and difficulty in welcoming migrants.The mechanism provides that Member States that cannot provide reception can choose to contribute financially (20,000 euros per person).The objective, on paper, is to share responsibility between EU member states, showing solidarity, especially towards those states, such as Italy, which protect the external borders of the Union and which are more exposed to migratory flows .

Again, the pillar on the asylum applications which tries to make the process more efficient and faster:some migrant people will be subjected to the traditional procedure, others to a so-called "accelerated" border procedure border procedures.The latter will only be applied to certain categories of migrant people:those who “lie” to the authorities, are considered a security risk, or simply come from countries whose citizens are not usually granted asylum.This procedure will last a maximum of 12 weeks (six months if possible repatriation is also considered).For each member state there is a maximum number of people who can be subjected to the border procedure, which will involve a maximum of 30 thousand people at a time at a European level.

Last, the regulation on crisis situations.Referring to the text of the law, it provides "tools to react quickly in crisis situations, such as a high number of illegal arrivals or destabilization attempts by hostile countries".In these circumstances, a country requests the Commission to activate the crisis situation, and if granted, its national authorities will be able to apply more severe measures, including longer periods for asylum procedures:up to ten days for the registration of the applicant, and six more weeks for the border procedures.When a country activates the crisis situation, solidarity measures on the part of other states increase, both in terms of relocation (the priority route) and in terms of financing.

The enthusiastic declarations of many leading figures in EU politics - who have repeatedly defined this vote as a historic, turning point for Europe - are truly worrying when considering the current conditions of migrants in Europe.As has often been pointed out by numerous humanitarian organizations, and as underlined Picum (a Brussels-based NGO that aims to promote social justice and respect for the human rights of undocumented migrants in Europe) in its latest statement, “the European Parliament has signed a pact on migration that is likely to lead to widespread violations of human rights throughout Europe and at its borders".

The new agreement will have devastating humanitarian consequences.Anyone arriving in Europe without valid travel documents will likely be detained in border facilities, without age exceptions, including families with children.

People who are not eligible for asylum risk being directly directed towards expulsion procedures, without the possibility of following a different path of regularization in Europe.The pact does not provide any rules on the right to defense and legal representation during administrative procedures at the borders;Migrants who manage to appeal against the expulsion order may still be expelled pending a decision on their case.

There is also, according to Picum, a dangerous drift in the control of racialized ethnic groups (including EU citizens), due to the expansion of profiling and the new screening procedures to identify people who have entered irregularly.Lastly, the enormous and complex question of the relationship between Europe and third countries:Member States will be able to waive key safeguards if they claim that a third country is pushing people towards their borders ('migration exploitation').

The integrity of the right to asylum under threat 

The discussion on the merits was almost non-existent;once again, migrations have polarized the national and supranational political debate, also thanks to the narrative of many European media and the belief (to be ascertained) that an increasingly security-oriented policy can function as push factor.The interventions of the MEPs were almost all aimed at ensuring the correct positioning of their party in view of the European elections.If, as it seems, there will be a further shift to the right with the June votes, it is reasonable to think that the right to asylum will be increasingly less protected, especially in the countries of first arrival.

Fratelli d'Italia MEP Procaccini spoke in favor of the Pact, strongly supporting the current Government's desire to guarantee national border security and to combat the work of NGOs in the Mediterranean and of human traffickers, placing them practically at the same level.Pietro Bartolo of the Democratic Party, however, declared himself against the Pact:“You can negotiate on everything except humanity,” he said during his speech.However, a constructive discussion has not been established on the current legislative system, which already compressed the rights of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe to the maximum.No declaration on the gradual dismantling of the reception system in Italy, after the disaster Cutro Decree, which further limits the reception of asylum seekers, which effectively prevents the right to request political asylum and subjects migrants to inhuman and degrading treatments in Repatriation Centres;no declaration even on the externalization of borders, which endangers the entire system of protections and guarantees of international conventions.

Migrants:after Cutro, the majority is preparing a new crackdown on residence permits

The dissent of civil society

During the Parliament's plenary there were moments of very high tension, when MEPs were called to vote on the so-called border procedures, some activists peacefully demonstrated their dissent, loudly shouting their opposition to the agreement between the member states.The dissent was raised by 161 civil society organizations who, with a joint statement dated 8 April, invited MEPs to reject the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.For months, major NGOs such as Oxfam and Amnesty International have strongly contested the Pact which "contains rights violations and a punitive approach, a huge step in the wrong direction".The Commission has tried to sell the Pact as a great success, capable of resolving problems of solidarity between Member States and the uneven application of the EU asylum acquis.

Since 2014, more than 29,000 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean, and while this remains the deadliest migration route in the world, others are also claiming large numbers of victims.In January and February this year more than 12,000 people crossed the Atlantic to try to reach the Canary Islands.Reports also suggest an increase in human trafficking from Lebanon to Cyprus and Greece.

As stated by Sarah Chander, co-founder of Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice, Europe has approved “the most lethal series of migration policies in history.Instead of focusing on social services and safety for all, these laws will mean criminalization, more racial profiling and prisons, and more weapon-like technology for border surveillance.”

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