The European Parliament has approved a controversial shake-up of the bloc’s migration system which advocates claim will better “protect” its borders.
After eight years of wrangling between the 27 member states, the compromise proposals aim to cut the time for asylum procedures and reduce immigration from the Middle East and Africa.
The new system would mean the wider bloc would be obligated to take in migrants who arrive in mainly “frontline” countries like Greece and Italy – or be required to provide extra funds or resources instead.
EU member states must now endorse the reform package, possibly in a vote in late April, before it can come into force.
“We will be able to better protect our external borders, the vulnerable and refugees, swiftly return those not eligible to stay, with mandatory solidarity between member states,” EU home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said.
However, the plans have been criticised across the political spectrum.
Anti-immigration and far-right parties have argued the measures do not go far enough – while leftists and activists have slammed them as a blow to human rights.
Some have also interpreted the plans as an effort to counter the rise of the far-right ahead of European elections in June.
Political rows over migration have grown since more than a million people – mostly Syrian refugees – arrived across the Mediterranean in 2015.
According to UN data, more than 46,000 people have entered the EU – which is home to around 450 million people – outside of regular border crossings so far this year.
Of those, 400 are estimated to have died while attempting to make the journey.
German interior minister Nancy Faeser described the vote result as a “major and very important success”.
Under the plans, facial images and fingerprints could be taken from children from the age of six and people may be detained during screening.
Fast-track deportation could also be used on those not permitted to stay.
Protesters briefly interrupted the voting. Pic: AP
‘Failure of leadership’
Wednesday’s vote was briefly interrupted by protesters in the public gallery as they called on lawmakers to “vote no”.
Migrant and human rights groups also mostly condemned the shake-up, with 22 charity groups backing a statement which claimed the measures fail to offer “sustainable solutions for people seeking safety”.
However, they did note that part of the reforms governing the resettlement of migrants to Europe from outside the bloc “offers a glimmer of hope for many refugees across the globe”.
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Eve Geddie, from Amnesty International, described the revamp as “a failure to show global leadership”.
“For people escaping conflict, persecution, or economic insecurity, these reforms will mean less protection and a greater risk of facing human rights violations across Europe – including illegal and violent pushbacks, arbitrary detention, and discriminatory policing,” she said.
