The European Parliament adopted by a large majority (505 votes in favour, 124 against, 55 abstentions), on Wednesday 10 February, its evaluation report on the 2013 Directive on asylum procedures, a Directive that the Pact on Migration and Asylum suggests should be replaced by a new Regulation.
In this own-initiative report by Germany’s Erik Marquardt (Greens/EFA) (see EUROPE 12634/12), MEPs stress that, while Member States have an obligation to prevent irregular crossings at the EU’s external borders, they must also respect the fundamental rights of migrants, including the right to apply for asylum. They deplore the lack of a clear definition of a fast-track procedure at the external borders, which would reduce certain processing times and be a pillar of the new Pact.
The report also looks at the increase in violations of fundamental rights at the EU’s external borders, including “numerous cases of people being refused entry without their asylum applications being registered”. This phenomenon was again denounced on 10 February by the International Organization for Migration.
As such, MEPs call on the European Commission to suspend EU payments in the event of serious shortfalls. Croatia, Greece and Hungary are among the Member States of which these allegations of migrant pushback are centred.
Link to the ‘Marquardt’ report: https://bit.ly/36VXh43 (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)