The Interior Ministers of the EU Member States, meeting on 10 June in Luxembourg, expressed their support for the solidarity mechanism for the (voluntary) relocation of people rescued at sea and for the adoption, in the next few days, of general approaches on two Regulations that have been pending for several months - the Regulations on ‘screening’ migrants and on Eurodac - announced French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, referring to a “major” step and a “historic agreement”.
This political agreement will be concretised in the next few days: a meeting of the solidarity ‘platform’ will be organised next week to discuss the relocation figures again and “to have the exact figures returned by the Member States”, the French Minister said.
The adoption of the two general approaches on the ‘Screening’ and Eurodac Regulations should allow the solidarity mechanism to be launched. Discussions will then start with the European Parliament.
In any case, this agreement in principle allows some progress to be made on the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’ proposed in September 2020, notably the Regulation on asylum and migration management, which organises these solidarity responses.
The mechanism for people rescued at sea is in fact contained in this Regulation replacing the old Dublin Regulation, which also deals with the solidarity aspects related to situations of migratory pressure and provides in the latter case for the possibility of helping frontline countries, either with relocation or with return sponsorships.
This first step achieved on Friday is therefore intended to advance the rest of the Regulation. In the European Parliament, the examination of the text has also started, but the European Parliament rapporteur, Tomas Tobé (EPP, Sweden), also had to postpone the initial timetable, given the complexity of the dossier. His report cannot be voted on in July as initially envisaged, his Bureau said on 10 June.
Far from welcoming the agreement reached in Luxembourg, the Swedish rapporteur considered that Member States cannot limit themselves to ad hoc solutions like the one found for people at sea.
“There is an urgent need for well-functioning European asylum and migration policies that regain control of external borders, provide for fast and fair procedures to quickly distinguish refugees from economic migrants, strengthen cooperation with third countries and ensure the effective return of those not allowed to stay in the EU. This means finalising the Migration Pact as soon as possible. Laws, not ad hoc solutions, will ensure sustainable and reliable asylum and migration policies”.
Parliament also does not want to give the EU Council too much time on the other texts of the Pact and “commits to start trilogue negotiations on all dossiers by December 2022 at the latest”, added the MEP.
The S&D Group in Parliament also considered that this agreement, although a very important step, was “not enough”. This solidarity mechanism based on voluntary action cannot be the only solidarity response of the Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Agreements in practice
What do the politically approved texts of the Ministers provide for in practice?
The French Presidency of the EU Council estimated, during the latest discussions on the solidarity mechanism, that Member States could expect around 10,000 people to be disembarked in European ports each year after a rescue operation.
Voluntary countries will then commit to relocate the most vulnerable, according to a distribution key based on their GDP and population size. They may also choose to provide financial or material assistance to frontline countries, again according to a distribution key.
The member countries will mainly help Italy and Spain, but the mechanism also covers the specific situation of Cyprus and Greece. The relocation will also affect the most vulnerable public.
On Friday, however, few Member States were reported to have given quantified commitments. “Only four or five countries”, says one source, but this did not prevent a majority of countries from voting in favour of the scheme.
The ‘Migrant Screening’ Regulation, according to the source, provides for enhanced registration and control obligations for migrants crossing the external border irregularly. These persons will have to be kept for five days in a place defined by the Member State, at the external border or elsewhere in the country, without being considered as having already arrived on European soil. This will involve identity, security and health controls. States will need to prevent these people from absconding.
After this screening, migrants will be directed to an asylum procedure or to a return procedure.
The Eurodac Regulation, on the other hand, extends the type of data related to migrants regarding decisions to refuse asylum or to return decisions. The proposal also foresees the creation of a new data category for people rescued at sea as well as for people with temporary protection, such as Ukrainians at present. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)