Dark day for Europe: EU asylum reforms agreed

The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) has described the day that the EU approved the new Migration Pact as a dark day.

Sharing its thought on its X handle, ECRE said:
“Byzantine in their complexity and Orban-esque in their cruelty to refugees, the reforms are based on false premises:

1. Those arriving do not have protection needs❌
2. Treating people inhumanely is a deterrent❌

2/ Introducing the new regulations: APR

– obliges states to keep people in detention centres at borders (or elsewhere) where they will undergo sub-standard asylum procedures (or no real asylum procedure at all)

3/ Introducing the new regs: RAMM

– repeals dysfunctional Dublin Regulation & replaces it with… rules that are almost the same (just more unfair)
– introduces Solidarity Mechanism: Demonstrate solidarity by building a fence or funding the Libyan Coastguard! Whatever you want!

4/ Introducing new regs: CRISIS!

– allows 🇪🇺MS to derogate from the law at will with 3 derogatory regimes
– codifies damaging concept of “instrumentalisation” into EU law in worst possible form
– introduces nonsensical use of “force majeure” to allow MS to derogate from the law

5/ Introducing the new regulations: Eurodac

– massively expands the EU’s databases with interoperability but without safeguards

(And various other lowlights)

6/ Implications

– 100Ks more people in detention subject to substandard procedures
– 100Ks more pushbacks
– Legalisation of various forms of denial of access to asylum
– International law undermined
– People in limbo / irregular situations / destitution
– Boom time for smugglers

7/ Permanent varied derogations

– “instrumentalisation” concept is so broad it will apply to almost all situations at borders (even when states claim people are “manipulated” by NSAs, including smugglers or even NGOs)
– states will be permanently derogating from new APR/RAM laws

8/ How did we get here?

1. Commission proposed bad legislation
2. Council made it much worse
3. Parliament conceded

Defenders of right to asylum, including ECRE, had little impact

Years of work, 1000s of meetings, 100s pages of analysis: the outcomes are still a chilling read

9/ What next?

Work to defend the right to asylum continues:

– Analysis of the legislation
– Advocacy for the least damaging interpretation
– Support to implementation in line with international and EU law
– A return to compliance
– Use of the courts

10/ Comprehensive implementation

– Address ALL implementation gaps & violations (not selective focus on border procedures + return)

– Tackle inhumane reception, poor procedures, bad decision-making & border violence

– Implement in line with EU law, including fundamental rights