Recovery of the European asylum system shortly before the breakthrough The Kachowka dam disaster in pictures

There is hardly an issue that divides the EU as deeply as the way it treats asylum seekers. Governments were voted out because of migration, others came to power as a result. Until now, the only thing that was agreed was that the common asylum system be broken. For Switzerland, this is currently reflected in the fact that Italy is no longer taking back so-called Dublin refugees. On Thursday, the EU’s interior ministers will meet in Luxembourg, in which Switzerland also participates, for the decisive asylum summit. Will the agreement succeed after years of deadlock? The most important questions and answers.

What’s on the table?

It deals with the core of the so-called asylum and migration pact: a review of the “Dublin system” and new, fast-track asylum procedures at the EU’s external borders. The challenge is to strike a balance between solidarity on the one hand and responsibility on the other. The countries of first arrival in Southern Europe, such as Italy, Greece or Spain, no longer want to bear the brunt of migration.

The northern EU countries show understanding for this. Yet they demand that the southern countries take their responsibility and protect the EU’s external border. In concrete terms, this means that the countries of first arrival must stop wavering migrants to the north. In return, the northerners promise to take some of the vulnerable people away from them.

Will there be an EU-wide distribution again?

No. This measure, which shocked the EU after the refugee crisis in 2015, is off the table. The new regulation explicitly stipulates that each country can only voluntarily participate in the distribution of asylum seekers. No one is forced.

But: if you don’t want to take in refugees, you have to show solidarity elsewhere. For example, by paying an amount of money. Most recently there was still talk of 20,000 euros per refugee. Alternatively, a country can also provide personnel and equipment to perform asylum and border security tasks. The motto is: Distribution is not mandatory, solidarity is.

What role do asylum procedures play at the external borders?

The crucial one. Up to 80 percent of migrants entering the EU irregularly are not entitled to asylum. To filter them out at an early stage, new, shortened asylum procedures are taking place at the external borders of the EU. This should take three months. Anyone coming from a country with a recognition rate of less than 20 percent should be immediately redirected to the abridged procedure and, if the decision is negative, quickly to their home country or a safe third country.

This measure promises to put an end to so-called secondary movements, i.e. irregular transit. However, the implementation of the asylum border procedure requires an enormous effort and responsibility from the southern countries. That is why the northern EU countries must show solidarity.

Why should what was impossible for years work now?

The EU agrees that things cannot go on like this. On the one hand because of the recurring boating accidents in the Mediterranean. On the other hand, the war in Ukraine also led to a rethink: countries that had never had to deal with migration suddenly received thousands of refugees. Yet there are still countries that are categorically against a revision. You don’t want to control migration, you want to prevent it completely.

Among them are Hungary and Poland, although they have received many refugees from Ukraine. It is unclear whether an agreement will be reached. EU diplomats put the odds at 50/50. Italy will probably be the deciding factor. Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government is pushing for the highest possible level of solidarity. However, if Rome demands too much, the balance could be upset and Northern Europeans who are skeptical of migration will jump out.

What is Switzerland’s position?

Justice Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider is under domestic pressure due to increasing migration stress. At the meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday, she will be resolutely committed to reforming the European asylum system, as Switzerland has always done. Switzerland is not directly affected by the new solidarity mechanism. But: in the past, the Bundesrat has always shown solidarity and also accepted refugees.

What’s next?

An agreement between the EU countries would be the big, long-awaited “square of the circle”. However, this is not the end. Then come the negotiations with the EU Parliament, which advocates a softer migration policy. That will be a tough nut to crack, according to observers. The aim is to complete the file before the European elections in the spring of 2024. (aargauerzeitung.ch)