The EU has been looking for a solution for reforming the EU’s asylum policy for years. Now the ministers have finally reached an agreement on a common asylum and immigration policy.
Elsa Osipova,
Minja Viitanen
After years of negotiations, the EU member states seem to have finally reached an agreement on a common asylum and immigration policy reform. Sweden, the country of the presidency, said on Twitterthat the EU interior ministers were able to agree on a common vision.
– These documents form the two main pillars of the reform of the EU asylum system and are key to achieving a balance between responsibility and solidarity. The hard work during several presidencies has contributed to the result we have achieved today, Sweden writes.
Swedish Minister of Immigration Maria Malmer Stenergard tells TT that the ministers meeting today in Luxembourg have decided to intensify the returns of those who have received a negative asylum decision and agreed on “solidarity”, that is, that the countries promise to help each other in crisis situations.
The overall reform of the EU’s immigration and asylum policy has been prepared since the immigration crisis of 2015.
Before the proposals enter into force, they must be approved by the EU Parliament and the EU member states.
Shared responsibility and faster processing
The goal of the reform is to create an EU-wide joint responsibility mechanism that would ease the situation of member countries that are under intense pressure.
The idea is that part of the asylum seekers could be placed in other EU countries, deviating from the current asylum rules.
Sources: AFP, TT
The story was completed on 8.6. at 23:00 the Swedish Presidency tweeted.