Historic agreement on migration

Migration has caused one of the major crises that have affected Europe in the last decade. There have been discussions, projects, tensions, and European Union member states have had different approaches regarding those seeking a new home. The European Union has reached a historic agreement on how member states will manage a sudden increase in the number of people seeking asylum due to war, natural disasters, or climate emergencies, according to The Guardian. The new rules will allow frontline states to expedite the processing of asylum applications and quickly relocate individuals to other European countries, thus avoiding a repeat of the situation in 2015 when a million refugees arrived in the EU from Syria and other countries, and some countries accepted many more asylum seekers than others. The agreement was reached this week, putting an end to three years of disputes among member states, as the 27 EU leaders are set to meet today in the Spanish city of Granada.

The agreement was reached after Germany and Italy resolved their conflict, which was generated by differing European government approaches to migration. "It is a common step forward that solidarity among member states is mandatory in times of crisis," wrote German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Italy, on the other hand, stated that Germany "stepped back" on a controversial paragraph that could have prohibited Italian authorities from using emergency measures to deal with migrants rescued at sea by NGOs. "This is an important result for us," said an Italian diplomat. The compromise "took into account our suggestions regarding humanity and order," wrote German Minister Annalena Baerbock. "We ensured that minimum humanitarian standards, such as access to education and medical assistance, are not weakened during a crisis. Because without humanity in a crisis, there is no order," she said. Spain, which holds the EU Council Presidency, hoped to reach an agreement at a meeting of interior ministers held last Thursday in Brussels, but Italy declared at the last moment that it would not support the agreement after two clauses were drafted to address German concerns about human rights. Italy wanted a clause that would allow the violation of minimum standards in detention centers in the event of a crisis, which Germany opposed. Italy also criticized Germany for supporting NGOs in search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Poland and Hungary, which strongly oppose hosting any individuals arriving from the Middle East and Africa, voted against the agreement, while Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, which have their own reservations, abstained from voting, and the decision was adopted by a majority vote. The new regulation now needs to be approved by the European Parliament.

The main objective of the agreement was to share the burden of migration throughout the European Union, with frontline states being able to request solidarity and support from the EU and its member states, said Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez, Spain's interim Minister of Interior. There will also be an accelerated registration process for asylum seekers in crisis situations, with member states having only four weeks to complete the initial formalities before requesting other countries to host individuals. The supporting member state will then assume responsibility for processing asylum applications, a process that often takes years.Last week, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johannson, announced that 250,000 people had entered the EU this year through illegal migration, with nearly half of them in Italy. EU leaders, including Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, have made every effort to ensure that the rest of the EU demonstrates solidarity with Rome.