Published: Less than 30 min ago
A clear majority in the EU Parliament makes a united front for the EU’s asylum and migration pact.
Now it’s just a matter of getting the member states on board.
Yes, the result was five times over when the EU Parliament’s Committee for Civil Liberties and Rights voted this afternoon. The extra meeting was to get the committee to agree on some of the heaviest parts of the pact that Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson put forward in September 2020.
Among other things, a vote was taken on the compromise that the Swedish member Tomas Tobé (M) worked out on the asylum and migration management itself – and which was approved with 47 votes to 17 and one abstention.
Other votes concerned new common rules for how asylum seekers and migrants are to be taken care of at the EU’s external borders and special rules in crisis situations.
The settlements mean that the parliament is now ready to start final negotiations with the EU’s Council of Ministers. For that, however, it is first required that the EU member states can agree on their view on the matter, which is not going to be the easiest thing. However, the current chair country Sweden hopes that the Council of Ministers will be able to agree by June at the latest and then begin negotiations this autumn.