EU agrees on a new migration pact, mainstream parties hope it will deprive the far right of votes

BRUSSELS: The European Union has finally endorsed sweeping reforms to its asylum system after more than eight years of work. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum, spanning over 1,500 pages of legal text, was officially approved by the 27-nation EU's economy ministers. However, Hungary and Poland voted against the package due to their long-standing opposition to any obligation for countries to host migrants or pay for their upkeep.
The new rules provide guidelines for screening people to determine if they qualify for protection, such as asylum, or if they should be deported.Mainstream political parties believe that the pact offers solutions to the divisive issues that have plagued the EU since the 2015 migration crisis, when over 1 million migrants, mostly fleeing war in Syria and Iraq, entered Europe. They hope that these reforms will help curb the influence of far-right parties in the upcoming June 6-9 elections.
However, the legislative package will not come into force until 2026, meaning it does not provide an immediate solution to the ongoing political crisis within the EU, where nations continue to argue over who should be responsible for migrants upon their arrival and whether other countries are obligated to assist.
Critics of the pact argue that it will allow nations to detain migrants at borders and fingerprint children, infringing on their right to claim asylum. They believe that the pact is designed to keep people out and may lead to questionable political deals with poorer countries from which people are fleeing or passing through to reach Europe.
Despite the criticism, the approval of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum marks a significant step towards a more unified approach to handling migration within the European Union. As campaigning for the Europe-wide elections intensifies, migration is expected to be a crucial issue, and the impact of these reforms on the political landscape remains to be seen.
(With inputs from agencies)