This green light thus paves the way for talks with the European Parliament to adopt the reform before the June 2024 European elections.
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Published on 08.06.2023 23:39
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The European Commission building in Brussels (Belgium), October 11, 2022. (DIEGO RAVIER / HANS LUCAS / AFP)
An agreement reached after a day of difficult negotiations. On Thursday, June 8th, European interior ministers reached an agreement on two central aspects of a reform of migration policy. The latter envisages a system of solidarity between Member States in the care of refugees and an accelerated examination of the asylum applications of certain migrants at the borders. “These are not easy decisions for everyone at the table, but they are historic decisions,” said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. This green light thus paves the way for talks with the European Parliament to adopt the reform before the June 2024 European elections.
EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson welcomed a “very important step” for the asylum and migration pact presented in September 2020. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola welcomed a “breakthrough” and stressed that his institution was ready to start talks. Poland and Hungary voted against the proposals, while Bulgaria, Malta, Lithuania and Slovakia abstained, AFP learned from Sweden’s EU presidency, which led the long and complex negotiations.
A little earlier, a dozen member states, including Italy and Greece, had expressed opposition or reservations about the proposals on the table. A new compromise text then had to be drafted in order to please as many people as possible, particularly the Mediterranean countries through which migrants enter the EU.
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