Almost a week after the European Union’s interior ministers met without certifying the agreement, the countries were finally able to give their approval yesterday to the last hurdle left to close the Migration and Asylum pact. With this step, negotiations with the Eurochamber can begin.
With this regulation, which in the end received the endorsement of Italy (several diplomatic sources pointed out that an agreement could not be reached without the country most affected by the arrival of migrants), questions about how to act in the event of a massive arrival of migrants. Specifically, it was approved that asylum application registrations should not last more than four weeks; in addition, they supported the fact that there are no mandatory quotas. Countries will be free to host asylum seekers or, failing that, contribute to paying for their maintenance in another country, by sending experts to speed up asylum registrations; or support the return of migrants, in case they do not have the right to do so.
At the meeting six days ago, Germany decided to lift the veto on what is known as the crisis management regulation, at a delicate moment for the country, with a record number of asylum requests. With the approval of Berlin, the necessary majority of countries was achieved.
It was certified by Spain, which exercises the rotating presidency of the Council. But in a last-minute move, Italy blocked final ratification and asked for more time.
Rome was bothered by a point in the text that ensured that the oenages that rescue migrants cannot be accused of “instrumentalizing” immigration when there is no objective to destabilize the EU or a Member State”, a concession that had been made by the Spanish presidency to convince Berlin. The movement was not liked in Rome, where the Government of Giorgia Meloni and the political impact of this issue in the middle of a major crisis due to the arrivals of migrants this past year made it difficult for it to be approved so quickly.
However, both the Commissioner of the Interior, Ylva Johanson, and the Spanish Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who represented the rotating presidency of the Council, were convinced that the measure would end up being approved before the Granada summit, which is held at the end of this week, in which migration will be one of the hot topics.
With yesterday’s agreement, the countries face the final stretch to approve the Migration and Asylum pact. They will now have to negotiate the agreement with the European Parliament, with a view to closing it before the end of the year or, at best, in January 2024.
