EU signs off on sweeping migration overhaul ahead of elections
Al Jazeera
The New Pact on Migration and Asylum approval comes as EU prepares to hold elections in which migration could be pivotal.
The European Union has given the final green light to a landmark overhaul of its migration and asylum policies that will see hardened borders and shared responsibility among member states, as campaigning heats up for Europe-wide elections next month.
The New Pact on Migration and Asylum was officially approved by the 27-nation bloc’s economy ministers, ending more than eight years of work to rewrite the rule book for handling people who enter Europe without authorisation.
A majority of member nations backed the reform’s 10 pieces of legislation, ensuring its passage despite opposition from Hungary and Poland, which have long rejected the idea that all European countries should take in a share of arrivals.
The new rules, which come into effect in 2026, lay out the guidelines for screening people to establish whether they qualify for some kind of protection, like asylum or deportation if they are not allowed to stay.
Mainstream political parties believe the pact provides answers to questions that have divided nations since more than one million refugees and migrants entered Europe in 2015, most fleeing wars in Syria and Iraq.
