European Parliament passes asylum and migration reforms

The European Parliament has approved a landmark overhaul of the European Union’s asylum and migration rules. The parliament’s main political groups overcame opposition from far-right and far-left parties to pass the new migration and asylum pact – a sweeping reform nearly a decade in the making. “History made” parliament president Roberta Metsola posted on X on Wednesday following the passage of the migration and asylum pact. Swedish parliamentarian Malin Bjork said that the pact does not respond to “any of the questions it was set to solve.” She said the reform package “undermines the individual right to seek asylum” in Europe because it would build on plans that some EU countries already have to process migrants abroad. In a joint statement, 22 charity groups, including the International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, said the pact “leaves troubling cracks deep within Europe’s approach to asylum and migration, and fails to offer sustainable solutions for people seeking safety at Europe’s borders.” The groups said 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.” Eve Geddie from Amnesty International described it 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.