New EU pact will cause a surge of suffering for refugees and migrants

New agreement suggests human rights can be put to one side when they are inconvenient, writes Stephen Bowen, Executive Director at Amnesty International Ireland

While the EU wants to frame this agreement as one that brings "certainty, clarity and decent conditions for people arriving in the EU", it must be called out for what it is. This agreement is designed to make it harder for people to access safety. Photo: AP/Joan Mateu Parra

There is nothing to celebrate in the European Union’s new ‘deal’ on migration and asylum. The agreement that EU leaders have made will cause a surge of suffering for refugees and migrants on every step of their journey towards a new life.

On Wednesday, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU reached a long-awaited political agreement on several key elements of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. 

In theory, this new deal is an attempt to make the EU better equipped at dealing with surges in asylum applications, the likes of which we have seen recently, when millions fled war-torn Syria and Afghanistan in search of safety in 2015. In reality, the terms that have been agreed do not solve the underlying issues of the current asylum model and, in many cases, make the issues worse.

The new deal brings in mechanisms for applications to be processed in ‘centres’ away from the EU’s borders, such as in seaports and airports. The deal also establishes what is being referred to as an ‘emergency response’ in the event of a surge in asylum seekers. This would, among other things, require member states to reduce protection for refugees and allow them to hold people in detention centres longer than usually permitted.

While the EU wants to frame this agreement as one that brings "certainty, clarity and decent conditions for people arriving in the EU", it must be called out for what it is. This agreement is designed to make it harder for people to access safety.

This pact will almost certainly cause more people to be put into detention at EU borders, including families with children and people in vulnerable situations.

The emergency response measures, essentially, allow countries to opt out of a broad range of EU asylum rules in times of increased arrivals. These exemptions risk breaching international obligations under refugee and international human rights law. 

They undermine a common, humane response to people in need of protection, place people at risk of severe human rights violations, and risk normalising disproportionate emergency measures at European borders, setting a dangerous precedent for the right to asylum globally. 

Simply put, it sends a message that protecting people’s human rights is something that can be sidelined when it becomes inconvenient. This is unacceptable.

One of the key concerns going into this agreement was to ensure support for those states that lie on the outer borders of the EU. These countries are where many of those seeking protection first arrive, and include the likes of Italy, Spain and Greece. This agreement has failed to offer these supports.

Instead of prioritising solidarity through relocations and strengthening protection systems, states will be able to simply pay to strengthen external borders, or fund countries outside the EU to prevent people from reaching Europe.

Deterring entry to EU

The EU’s reliance on countries outside the EU to help prop up its asylum procedures is particularly concerning. 

Earlier this year, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the EU and Tunisia, to give Tunisia financial and technical support to deter Europe-bound migration. This is despite mounting evidence of human rights abuses in the country. 

Stephen Bowen: "This agreement will set back European asylum law for decades to come."

Tunisia’s President, Kais Saied, has concentrated, near-total power to rule since suspending the country’s former parliament in 2021. Authorities have investigated and, in some cases, arrested at least 72 opposition figures and other perceived critics of the president accused of various offenses. 

At the same time as Tunisia and the EU were preparing to sign this agreement in July, Tunisian authorities left hundreds of people, including children, stranded at Tunisia’s desert borders, initially without water, food or shelter.

This pact re-inforces the EU’s dependence on agreements such as this and builds on recent deals with Albania, Libya and Türkiye. The EU could invest in dignified reception within the bloc and expand safe and regular pathways to allow people to reach protection in Europe without relying on dangerous journeys. 

Instead, the EU has decided to take a further step towards externalising border control and evading Europe’s refugee protection responsibilities.

Reforms

The pact won’t solve the pressing problems facing asylum systems in the EU. These include underinvestment in asylum and reception systems, unlawful and often violent pushbacks, policies that deny people the right to asylum, and impunity at EU borders. 

Without a renewed commitment to enforce EU law and ensure accountability for pushbacks and other violations, the pact will do nothing to improve protections for asylum seekers in Europe or improve Europe's response to migration. 

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The EU must address these well-documented violations and take steps to ensure a human rights compliant, sustainable, and well-resourced response to people arriving at Europe’s borders.

This agreement will set back European asylum law for decades to come. Amnesty International has long called on EU institutions and member states to put human rights at the centre of negotiations on EU asylum reforms. However, after years of complex negotiations, the EU now risks sleepwalking into a system in even greater need of reform than the current one.

• Stephen Bowen is Executive Director at Amnesty International Ireland