PACE has welcomed the EU’s commitment to integrating European human rights fully into all its policies on migration and asylum, but has said its proposed new Pact on Migration and Asylum is “very complex” and raises concerns that proposed accelerated asylum procedures may reduce their quality and fairness.
Approving a resolution based on a report by Oleksii Goncharenko (Ukraine, EC/DA), the Assembly recommended that EU member States agree to a mandatory relocation system, as a measure of solidarity with EU border countries, prioritising the cases of family reunion and unaccompanied migrant children.
It also invited the EU to amend the Pact’s proposed Screening Regulation to ensure that it includes an effective suspensive remedy against incorrect screening categorisation, and to better address the needs of persons in vulnerable situations, victims of human trafficking and women victims of gender-based violence.
European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, taking part in the debate remotely, underlined that the proposals sought to manage arrivals in an orderly way. Not all people seeking entry to the EU have a right to stay, she pointed out, but all should have a fair assessment, a clear decision within a reasonable time, and be treated with respect and dignity. She welcomed the PACE report, and pledged to take it into account.
