New Migration Pact Spreads Burden As An Antidote To Populism

Full details of the European Commission's proposed Pact on Migration and Asylum: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail...

• Key sections are pillars one and two:
  • Pillar 1: "...consists of more efficient and faster procedures. In particular, the Commission is proposing to introduce an integrated border procedure, which for the first time includes a pre-entry screening covering identification of all people crossing the EU's external borders without permission...After the screening, individuals can be channeled to the right procedure, be it at the border for certain categories of applicants or in a normal asylum procedure. As part of this border procedure, swift decisions on asylum or return will be made, providing quick certainty for people whose cases can be examined rapidly."
  • Pillar 2: "...is fair sharing of responsibility and solidarity. Member States will be bound to act responsibly and in solidarity with one another. Each Member State, without any exception, must contribute in solidarity in times of stress, to help stabilize the overall system...In respect of the different situations of Member States and of fluctuating migratory pressures, the Commission proposes a system of flexible contributions from the Member States. These can range from relocation of asylum seekers from the country of first entry to taking over responsibility for returning individuals with no right to stay or various forms of operational support."
• Pillar 1 effectively forms a triage system of migrants in an effort to speedily deal with cases, in comparison to the existing haphazard system of dealing with each case on the same terms.
• Pillar 2 eliminates the Dublin regulations whereby the nation in which a migrant first arrives is the one that deals with the individual's asylum application. Under this pillar those nations unwilling to accept migrant quotas would be able to offset this number by assisting those nations with a large influx of migrants to deal with asylum applications.
• A key aim for the Commission is to spread the burden of migration within the EU, and in its aims take the wind out of the sails of populist and nationalist politicians that have pointed towards large numbers of migrants coming to their respective countries as an example of EU policy failure.