EU Migration Pact: a historic deal against human rights

This month, EU lawmakers concluded political negotiations on the EU Migration Pact. Through its five legislative instruments, the new Pact will most likely lead to:

• An increase of detention across Europe, including of babies and children of all ages and families, in a model which has led to people remaining incarcerated, in legal limbo and in dire physical conditions;
• Heightening the risk of racial profiling of people who live in and come to Europe, whatever their citizenship or residence status, as surveillance-backed screening procedures are rolled out across the bloc;
• Deepening “externalisation” policies where European migration control is outsourced to third countries without scope for accountability, which has in turn been linked to deaths at sea, widespread torture and inhuman conditions;
• Lowering procedural safeguards during deportations, despite the risk of serious harm if people are returned to a third country.?This combined with the use of a dangerous “safe third country” concept enables Member States to evade their responsibility to provide reception and protection;
• Mandatory asylum border procedures in a broad number of grounds, which forces people into de facto detention with limited access to legal assistance, representing a severe blow to the right to asylum in international law. These standards could be lowered even further in an unacceptably broad and vague range of so-called ‘crisis’ situations;
• Failing to address the substantive issues it claims to, such as the distribution of asylum claims across member states.

Prior to the final negotiations, PICUM joined other leading human rights organisations in calling on EU lawmakers to reject this Pact. We will continue to denounce its harms as it will be implemented and work for humane and fair migration policies instead.

BORDERS

European Parliament calls on Frontex to scale down national operations. The European Parliament adopted a resolution that calls for the downscaling of Frontex operations (the EU’s border agency), in certain member states. The Parliament calls on Frontex to scale down its operations to mere monitoring and presence on the ground in cases where a member state is unable to respect EU principles and values, including in Greece and Hungary. The Parliament also calls on the agency to step up search and rescue operations at sea and improve internal management and transparency.

The resolution came as media revealed that Frontex collaborated with the Tariq Bin Zeyad Brigade, a Libyan militia accused of committing war crimes. Frontex allegedly shared coordinates of a boat with prospective asylum seekers in the Mediterranean with the Brigade.

European Commission greenlights border management funds for Hungary. The European Commission unblocked EU funds that Hungary can now use in border management, based on the assessment that the country addressed concerns over judicial independence that previously stopped such funds. In particular, Hungary would now be able to use funds from the Border Management and Visa Instrument and the Internal Security Fund. Funds from the Asylum and Migration Fund continue to be blocked due to shortcomings on asylum, non-refoulement and returns.

DETENTION AND DEPORTATIONS

Albania: Constitutional Court suspends ratification of migrants’ deal with Italy. Albania’s Constitutional Court suspended the ratification by the Albanian parliament of a deal signed by Albania’s and Italy’s prime ministers to process asylum applications of some migrants arriving in Italy by sea in Albania instead. The Court will have to determine whether the agreement violates Albania’s constitution, before the parliament can take further steps.

Spanish Presidency proposes EU law for unified deportation procedures. The Spanish Council Presidency is calling for the development of legislation on a "European return decision". This proposal, found in a document for the Schengen Council meeting, aims to standardise deportation procedures and increase the removal of third-country nationals from the EU territory. The document also encourages member states to increase their use of Frontex's deportation services.

EU governments set to harden revision of Returns Directive. The EU Observer reports that EU governments are considering abandoning their 2019 position on the revision of the Returns Directive, which sets minimum standards around returns and deportation procedures. Internal negotiations in the European Parliament face obstacles from the centre-right European People's Party, which calls for speedy procedures using current and future IT systems and immediate detention for those entering the EU irregularly, pending a possible "European return decision".

Germany: government presents new draft deportation legislation. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser presented new deportation legislation for unsuccessful asylum seekers. The draft law includes over 40 measures aimed at facilitating deportations, with a notable extension of pre-deportation detention from 10 to 28 days, expanded police powers, such as removing the requirement to notify individuals before deportation, allowing searches of third-party residences, and authorizing the examination of computers and mobile phones for identity verification.

Italy condemned for inhumane treatment of migrant children in detention. The European Court of Human Rights condemned Italy for subjecting four underage Ghanaians to inhumane treatment in an adult facility in Taranto, originally designed for 400 people but hosting 1,419 migrants in inadequate hygiene conditions. The court found that the four children were forcibly held without explanation and without the ability to appeal the decision, and awarded them compensation for moral damages and legal expenses.

UK: government proposes new Rwanda deal. The UK government introduced an emergency bill (named the Safety of Rwanda Asylum and Immigration Bill) to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling that found the Rwanda deal unlawful. The new draft bill aims to disapply specific sections of the UK's Human Rights Act in asylum claims. Despite avoiding a full departure from the European Convention on Human Rights, the bill empowers ministers to disregard judgments from the European Court of Human Rights.

MIGRATION POLICING AND CRIMINALISATION

European Commission doubles down on criminalisation against migrant smuggling. The European Commission proposed a revision of the EU’s legislation criminalising the facilitation of entry, transit or stay. The proposals acknowledge the need not to criminalise humanitarian assistance by NGOs, family members or migrants themselves, and aim to align EU legislation with the UN Migrant Smuggling Protocol. However, the proposals focus on harsher penalties for smuggling and on criminalising ‘public instigation’ to come to the EU without authorisation. The proposal expands Europol’s policing powers under the pretext of fighting against migrant smuggling.

France: parliament adopts tough immigration bill. French MPs from right and far-right parties adopted a tougher version of the government’s immigration bill, after being rejected only days before. The draft bill includes measures to facilitate deportations and restrict access to social benefits for migrants. The bill allows undocumented workers in shortage occupations to apply for a work permit only if they can prove one year of employment. Prefects will still be able to refuse such permit. The final text does not include a removal of basic health coverage for undocumented migrants, but the government will study a reform of this system in 2024.

RESIDENCE PERMITS

Belgium considers withdrawing nationality of children born to Palestinian parents. Belgian newspaper L’Echo revealed that since August 2023, the Belgian Immigration Office has been taking steps to withdraw the Belgian nationality from children born in Belgium to Palestinian parents, when the parents might already have another nationality. According to national law, these children were given the Belgian nationality in the first place to avoid that they become stateless, as Belgian jurisprudence is not clear about whether a Palestinian nationality exists. The Immigration Office believes certain municipalities have been too flexible in determining that the child could not access another nationality. According to lawyers and activists that are challenging the withdrawals, this move puts children and their families at risk of losing their right to reside in Belgium.

WORK

Greece: parliament adopts regularisation for undocumented workers. The Greek Parliament adopted legislation to regularise the status of around 30,000 undocumented migrants in Greece, aiming to address a severe labour shortage in key sectors like agriculture, tourism, and construction. The law, endorsed by leftwing opposition in a parliamentary vote, allows migrant workers to obtain residence permits in three years instead of seven if employed. Supporters argue it will alleviate labor shortages, boost public revenue through taxes, and enhance social cohesion.

UK considers measures to curb labour migration. The UK government announced plans to reduce the number of migrant workers by raising the minimum salary for “skilled jobs” by a third. The minimum salary threshold will be increased to ￡38,700 (around 45,000€), excluding health and social workers. Other measures include preventing foreign health workers from bringing in family members on their visas, a 66% increase in the health service surcharge for migrants, and raising the minimum income for family visas. Businesses and trade unions criticised the measures as counterproductive and challenging for sectors facing labour shortages.

PUBLICATIONS

PICUM, Migration status: A key structural social determinant of health inequalities for undocumented migrants

PICUM, Non-refoulement in the context of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

BOOKMARKS

Al Jazeera writes about Malta’s double standards around asylum seekers and migrant workers.

The Guardian reports on widespread self-harm in UK immigration detention, and on unmarked graves along EU migration routes.