Deal on the new EU Regulation on Asylum and Migration Management
- Mandatory solidarity for EU countries recognised as being under migratory pressure
- Relocations and/or financial contributions
- Additional criteria to determine which member state is responsible for examining international protection applications, replacing Dublin rules
Parliament and Council negotiators informally agreed on a new EU asylum and migration policy based on the principle of solidarity and the fair sharing of responsibility.
According to the agreed legislation, all member states will have to contribute to helping EU countries recognised as being under migratory pressure (“benefitting member states”), i.e. where the arrivals of applicants are of such a scale as to create disproportionate obligations compared to the overall EU situation and requiring immediate solidarity action.
Relocations and/or financial contributions
A solidarity pool will be established every year, to which all EU countries will have to contribute with relocations (i.e. transfers of an applicant or a beneficiary of international protection from the territory of a benefitting member state to the territory of a contributing one) and/or financial contributions. The calculation of each member state’s contribution is based on the size of the population (50%) and its GDP (50%), while each country is free to decide on the type of contribution or a combination of them.
Member states declared as being under migratory pressure will notify the Council and the Commission of their intention to use the pool and be able to request a partial or full deduction of their own solidarity contributions.
The new regulation, as agreed, sets the minimum threshold for relocations at 30,000 applicants and the financial contribution at €600 million. In case of insufficient pledges for relocations, a benefitting member state can request the other member states to take responsibility for examining the applications for international protection of those persons that are to be returned to the benefitting member state, instead of contributing with relocations.
Search and Rescue
The specific situation of countries with recurring Search and Rescue (SAR) operations at their borders is taken into account when assessing migratory pressure and a percentage of solidarity measures should be set apart from the solidarity pool for member states under pressure due to SAR.
Requests for international protection and relocations
The right to apply for international protection will not include a choice by the applicant as to which member state should be responsible for examining the application or to which member state they should be relocated.
In the identification process of the persons to be relocated and their possible matching with member states of relocation, consideration will be given to addressing vulnerabilities, including those of unaccompanied minors and after search and rescue.
Financing of actions in the EU and in third countries
Financial contributions will support actions in the EU in the area of migration, reception, asylum. Member states can also provide support for actions in or in relation to non-EU countries with a direct impact on the migration flows towards the EU. Financial support can also be directed to improve the asylum, reception and migration systems of the concerned third country, including for assisted voluntary return and reintegration programmes.
MEPs successfully pushed for guarantees that member states and the Commission will ensure the respect of fundamental rights and compliance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Responsibility to examine applications for international protection
The agreed rules include additional criteria to determine which member state is responsible for processing the application for international protection (known as Dublin rules). To help determine the responsible country, family reunification cases will be prioritised and possible family links will be identified as quickly as possible. Additional criteria are: diplomas obtained in a member state, existing meaningful relations, and language knowledge. If no other criteria applies, the first member state of registration of the application for international protection would still be responsible for examining it.
MEPs were successful in negotiating a provision whereby free legal counselling on these criteria will be provided, including information on rights and obligations during all procedural steps.
Quote
Rappporteur Tomas Tobé (EPP, SE) said: "After years of political deadlock, we have today agreed a common European response to the migration challenge. The new rules will allow us to regain control over our external borders and reduce the migration pressure towards the EU.”
Next steps
Once adopted by the whole Parliament and the Council, the regulation will apply to applications for international protection registered as from 2 years after entry into force.
The agreement on the Regulation on asylum and migration management is part of the wider revamp of the EU’s common asylum and migration rules, on which negotiators from Parliament and Council reached a comprehensive deal today. You can find more information here.
Contacts:
-
Polona TEDESKO
Press Officer