The EU executive proposed on Wednesday (December 1) to temporarily relax the asylum rules to allow Poland and its two Baltic neighbors, Lithuania and Latvia, to deal with migrants pushed to the common border by Belarus, but the proposal angered EU lawmakers and rights group.
The European Union accused Belarus of flying thousands of people from the Middle East and forcing them to enter the European Union through Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, a route that immigrants had never used before. Belarus rejected these allegations.
The European Commission is now proposing to restrict the right to seek asylum under international humanitarian law to designated locations, such as selected border points.
According to the proposal, immigrants cannot apply for asylum anywhere they reach the border and may need to walk more kilometers through forests, lakes and swamps that span the eastern edge of the EU and NATO.
Human rights groups have criticized Poland’s anti-immigration government by sending police, border guards, and military forces to collectively attempt to block the border in response to the increasing number of arrivals, while failing to provide adequate humanitarian assistance and shelters in freezing conditions.
According to the proposal, national authorities will have up to 4 weeks-instead of the maximum of 10 days currently envisaged by EU law-to register asylum applications for people arriving in their territory.
They will be allowed to keep registered asylum-seekers on the border side for up to 16 weeks until they analyze their protection request and deprive them of the right to be held in a more suitable center in the country.
The committee now only seeks basic hospitality conditions, such as food and water, medical care, and assistance to the most vulnerable groups-requirements are lower than usual, excluding education, etc.
The proposal will also allow faster expulsion of failed asylum seekers, which is another example of lowering safeguards for those seeking to enter Europe.
The socialist and green groups in the European Parliament came out to attack the executive branch’s proposal.
“These measures also directly affect governments that want to use the plight of vulnerable migrants to spread anxiety and fear about the EU border immigration crisis,” said Birgit Sippel, Social Democratic Party (S&D) Justice and Development spokesperson. ) The Ministry of the Interior said in a statement.
Green MP Teaneck Stricker went one step further, stating that “These measures are tantamount to supporting illegal, immoral and life-threatening counterattacks.”
“Unlike the implementation of the EU asylum law and the initiation of infringement procedures, the Commission chose to allow Poland, Lithuania and Latvia to carry out illegal activities along the EU borders,” she added.
However, members of the European Parliament are unlikely to obstruct the committee’s move, which was based on a proposal article Only foreseen EU treaties where the European Parliament has an advisory role.
At the same time, the Polish parliament passed a legal amendment last month that allows immigrants to be turned away at the border, while asylum applications by illegal immigrants will be ignored.
The reporters pressured reporters at a press conference introducing the proposal. European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas and Commissioner Ylva Johansson did not answer whether European executives believed that EU countries currently respect the right to apply for asylum at the EU border.
After asking several questions about the differences between the Brussels proposal and the EU countries’ practices on the ground, Cinas said: “We have made an annoying response to these issues.”
Schinas pointed out that this proposal was a request made by EU leaders after the meeting in October, and he said that it “will now enter the legislative process.”
“If it is not applied, then as in all cases of EU law, we have methods and means to check whether it is applied correctly through infringement or other procedures. This is the story.”
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
