EU asylum compromise: How the agreement is evaluated

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A Spanish policeman observes a boat with refugees off the coast of Gran Canaria

Photo: BORJA SUAREZ / REUTERS

Hardly any other issue is as controversial in the European Union (EU) as asylum policy and the treatment of refugees. After years of disputes, the majority of member states have agreed on a tougher asylum regime – and Germany has agreed.

This puts the Greens in particular to the test, the split goes right through the top of the party and parliamentary group. In the case of the Greens in the European Parliament, which still has to approve the agreement, the opinion is also very critical.

Terry Reintke, co-leader of the Greens in the European Parliament, told SPIEGEL: "The Council's position contradicts European values such as fundamental rights and respect for the rule of law."

They want to work vehemently to ensure that there will be no mandatory border procedures with new camps or detention facilities at the EU's external borders, "which would lead to a large number of people, including children and other vulnerable persons, being detained for long periods of time". There can be "no agreement at any price if the price is to disregard our international obligations to protect those seeking protection."

»More chaos and suffering«

Sergey Lagodinsky, legal policy spokesman for the Greens in the European Parliament, expressed a similar view: "My first impression is that the legal requirements have not been complied with, also with regard to the treatment of minors in the border procedure. This would then have to be corrected by the European Parliament." Green MEP Erik Marquardt described the compromise as a "disaster". It will "lead to more chaos and suffering".

Outside the Greens, some see it differently. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) spoke of a historic success. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn pointed out what he thought would have happened if there had been no agreement. "Without this compromise, the chaos would have continued for years. The big winners would have been Hungary and Poland," he told SPIEGEL.

"It was fortunate that Germany was there. Together with Portugal and Ireland, we have prevented what many countries wanted," Asselborn said. In this way, the so-called Rwanda model could be prevented. "Rwanda model" refers to the fact that the British government wants to deport illegal immigrants to Rwanda.

Birgit Sippel (SPD), domestic policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group in the EU Parliament, said that her group rejects the obligation to carry out problematic fast-track procedures at the external borders, and that the Parliament had followed this view. "Should these nevertheless be applied as an option, it is essential that families with children and unaccompanied minors are exempted."

On the other hand, Lena Düpont (CDU), migration policy spokeswoman for the CDU/CSU group in the European Parliament, sees the agreement as "a great opportunity for a functioning European migration policy". It is an "important step towards finally putting an end to irregular migration under the guise of the right of asylum". If it had failed, national border controls and a real threat to the freedom of travel in Europe, which has existed for decades, would have been the consequences.

Meanwhile, Gerald Knaus, migration expert and one of the architects of the EU-Turkey agreement, fears problems with the implementation of the compromise. This will probably not reduce irregular migration either. "The most likely scenario is that it will ultimately not be implemented, illegal pushbacks and violence will continue as before, including irregular migration and deaths in the Mediterranean."

In essence, the agreement provides in particular for a much tougher treatment of refugees with no prospect of staying. In the future, for example, people arriving from countries considered safe will be placed in strictly controlled reception facilities under detention-like conditions after crossing the border. There, it would normally be checked within twelve weeks whether the applicant has a chance of asylum. If not, it should be returned immediately.

In the negotiations, the German government had advocated that families with children be exempted from the so-called border procedures. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (both Greens) also spoke out in this sense. However, there was no majority for this position.

MBE/ULZ