Press release
Minister McEntee welcomes historic agreement on EU Migration and Asylum Pact
Published on
Last updated on
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has welcomed the political Agreement that has been reached overnight between the European Parliament and the European Council on the remaining measures of the Asylum and Migration Pact. This will fundamentally overhaul the asylum and migration landscape across the European Union. The measures, along with the rest of the Migration Pact previously agreed, will provide a more coherent, effective and balanced system to regulate asylum and migration in Europe. It will regulate how EU Member States deal with people arriving at their borders, the processing of asylum claims, and the identification of those arriving from third countries.
Minister McEntee stated today:
“I welcome the agreement reached last night on the remaining measures of the Asylum and Migration Pact by the European Parliament and the Council. I believe this agreement represents an important balance between effective asylum and return procedures and protections for those seeking protection who are the most vulnerable. This agreement will allow for unprecedented reforms, and a more effective, coherent and fair system to manage migration in the EU.
"Those who have a right to international protection must be given that status as quickly as possible. For those who are found not to have a right to international protection, they must return to their home country as quickly as possible.”
The Pact will introduce a common set of rules and policies in the areas of migration, asylum, integration and border management which will ensure harmonisation of rules across the EU and provides a robust legislative framework to improve the functioning of the asylum system.
Mandatory accelerated asylum processing for applicants who meet certain criteria, including where they come from a third country with a low recognition rate for asylum across the Union or those who present without documentation will be introduced. This will mean that those who are not entitled to protection will be processed swiftly, and those who are entitled can get access to their rights and protections in shorter timeframes. Accelerated asylum processing was introduced in Ireland when Minister McEntee signed regulations in November 2022 to commence the fast processing of applicants from designated safe countries of origin.
Mandatory asylum and return border procedures will also apply to certain applicants. The aim of the border procedure is to quickly assess at the EU’s external borders whether applications are unfounded or inadmissible. Additional safeguards will apply to children and their families and unaccompanied children will not be subject to the border procedure unless they pose a security risk.
Minister McEntee stated, on the mandatory procedures that:
“We must ensure that people seeking asylum are processed quickly and fairly, whether that’s a positive or negative decision. We have already successfully introduced accelerated procedures for a number of countries which has been working well and we can build on this."
On protections for children and safeguards more generally, the Pact contains a number of important element to ensure that fundamental rights are front and centre at all times. These include a right to interview, representation and a multidisciplinary age assessment for minors as well as independent monitoring of the implementation of asylum procedures, in particular with respect to fundamental rights in the border procedure.
Minister McEntee noted the importance of ensuring that fundamental rights are maintained throughout the process stating that:
“While it is of course important to introduce these new measures, to provide for quicker decisions and more effective return procedures, this must be done with due respect for human and fundamental rights, which is even more important where children are concerned."
Some of the key reforms introduced include mandatory solidarity for EU countries recognised as being under migratory pressure. The aim is to improve burden-sharing of asylum applications across the EU, noting that some Member States receive a disproportionate number of claimants in their territory. Solidarity will be set at a Union level with Member States contributing on the basis of a mandatory “fair share” principle which is based on a formula of 50% population and 50% GDP. Member States can choose their preferred method of solidarity which could take the form of relocations or a financial contributions.
Minister McEntee outlined the key role of solidarity underpinning the agreement:
“Solidarity among EU Member States is crucial to ensuring the effectiveness of the new measures as some Member States do shoulder a greater burden than others. This also needs to be flexible to take account of the situation of the Member State contributing so as not to place additional pressures on their system.”
While Ireland has not yet opted-into the Pact measures, with the exception of the European Union Asylum Agency Regulation, the rest of the EU will be bound by them two years after they are adopted, which will likely happen in the first few months of next year. Minister McEntee will seek a decision from Government on Ireland opting-into the Pact measures in the first quarter of next year.