David McAllister MEP: The EU’s Migration and Asylum Policy

Illegal migrant entries into the EU are at their highest since the migration crisis of 2015. In the first two months of 2024, the number of illegal border crossings reported reached 31,200, similar as the same period last year. (Frontex). This excludes Ukrainians who are welcome under the Temporary Protection Directive. Taken together, asylum applications and registrations for temporary protection surpassed 5 million in 2022 (EUAA). In 2023, EU+ countries received 1.14 million applications for international protection, reaching a 7-year high. Syrians continued to lodge the most applications, with Afghans remaining the second largest applicant group, albeit with significantly fewer applications than the previous year (EUAA).

So far, the EU’s migration and asylum system has not been working properly. The now adopted Migration Pact is a big step towards a European migration policy that is fair to those in need of protection, firm with those who are not eligible and harsh with the cynical human traffickers putting vulnerable people’s lives at risk.

After years of political deadlock, negotiators from the Council and the European Parliament agreed on new rules for a common European response to the migration challenge. The new Pact will provide swift and fair procedures to distinguish between refugees and economic migrants, increase cooperation with third countries and ensure the efficient return of those not granted stay in the EU.

The Pact intends to regain control over the EU’s external borders and reduce the migration pressure towards the EU. It is up to EU governments, not smugglers, to decide who enters Europe. To be able to show solidarity, we must restore order at our common borders, by building fences, if needed. Laws, not ad-hoc solutions, will guarantee sustainable and reliable asylum and migration policies that balance European solidarity and the fair share of responsibility. To better share responsibility and solidarity, the Pact introduces a new permanent solidarity mechanism. Arrival countries like Italy and Greece must not be left alone.

The new Eurodac rules will allow for proper identification, helping to prevent irregular migration and unauthorised movement between EU countries. The new harmonised rules on security checks will effectively screen all irregular arrivals at the external EU borders to distinguish between refugees and economic migrants.

The new rules aim to stop attempts of certain states and non-state actors who use migrants for political purposes. Instrumentalising migrants is unacceptable and saving lives should remain our top priority. The EU must be able to react effectively to cynical attempts to exploit vulnerable people and destabilise the EU. To say no to the Migration Pact is to say yes to chaos and human suffering.

The Greens’ non-constructive vote against the Pact means more of the same. More power to the human traffickers, more tragic deaths in the Mediterranean Sea, less control of the external EU border, and more economic migrants entering the EU illegally. The EU has a common external border, and we need a common European migration policy.