EU Approves Major Changes to Migration Laws

The European Parliament has approved a major reform to strengthen the EU's migration and asylum rules after years of negotiations,

Plans on the EU Asylum and Migration Pact began in 2015 and it will come into force in two years' time.

It is designed to speed up the asylum process and boost the return of irregular migrants to home countries.

It will also require EU member states to share responsibility for asylum seekers.

Last year, about 380,000 people illegally crossing the EU's borders, the highest number since 2016.

The EU noted that the pact involves "mandatory solidarity" between member states with flexibility. Although some EU states remain opposed to parts of the agreement, it is expected to receive full approval at the end of April under majority voting.

Under the proposed rules, the EU's 27 countries will be required to either take in thousands of migrants from "frontline" countries, such as Italy, Greece and Spain, or provide extra funding or resources.

The pact also says that asylum claims with "low chances of being accepted" should be examined rapidly, without necessarily admitting the applicant into EU territory.

Additionally, the agreement attempts to process asylum requests no later than 12 weeks. Asylum applicants would have the same amount of time to be forcefully returned to their native country if their application was denied.

Within seven days, migrants will be subject to a more stringent pre-entry screening process that will involve identity, health, and security checks.

.Every immigrant who is six years old or older will have their biometric data gathered, and a system will be in place to deal with spikes in the number of new immigrants.

The two largest political parties, the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the center-right European People's Party Group (EPP Group), have endorsed the migration agreement.

In the June legislative elections, both factions are attempting to stave off a formidable threat from the right.

It achieved a "balance between solidarity and responsibility," according to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed it as a "historic, indispensable step."

"It will not solve everything overnight but it is 10 giant leaps forward," she stated.

Hungary has vowed not to take any irregular migrants "regardless of any migration pact", and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has rejected as "unacceptable" the mechanism of taking in some asylum seekers or paying into an EU fund for frontline states.

Although many MEPs welcomed the result, several also noted that the agreement was not "perfect".

"It is a compromise we can work with," said Slovenian MEP Matjaz Nemec, while Belgium's Hilde Vautmans said the legislation was "not perfect" but that she had voted for it nonetheless.

However, left-wing and far-right groups opposed the agreement.

Jordan Bardella of France's far-right National Rally said the migration pact was "terrible" and urged Europeans to vote against President Emmanuel Macron, who backed the agreement, at the upcoming European elections on 9 June.