Success of EU Migration Pact depends on cooperation and solidarity between Member States
In the media image: Christian Lue on Unsplash
EU countries are working on a joint, stricter asylum policy to reduce differences between Member States and better manage asylum flows. 'The pact will make asylum policy truly European,' Mark Klaassen, Assistant Professor of Migration Law, says in ‘EenVandaag’.
Under the new pact, asylum seekers will be stopped and screened at the EU’s external borders. Decisions on admission will consider whether they have come from war zones or safe countries. It will become more difficult to travel on to a different Member State than the one initially entered. The pact also includes a solidarity mechanism for fairer distribution of asylum seekers across Member States, Klaassen says.
Klaassen, however, has reservations about the feasibility of the pact. According to him, the European policy aims to reduce differences between countries, but for that to happen, all Member States must commit to the agreements. In practice, countries try to outdo each other with stricter rules. He says the Netherlands is currently in a 'race to the bottom', with which the government is undermining the new rules and putting unnecessary pressure on implementation. The Dutch House of Representatives still has to approve the national legislation needed for the implementation of the pact.