New migration rules approved in the European Parliament

The new migration rules that the European Union has been working on for years have crossed one more hurdle. The European Parliament voted in favor of the Migration and Asylum Pact, although some aspects voted on separately faced a narrower margin of victory than others.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he was pleased that the European Parliament agreed to new migration rules. "There it is!" he wrote on X. "After years of work, there is now a final agreement" on receiving, distributing and returning migrants, Rutte said. "In this way we are protecting our external borders and gain more control over migration."

The caretaker Prime Minister is anticipating the final approval of the Member States. Definitive approval is needed from their national governments, which have already announced their support. Tensions were high surrounding the vote, as this was seen as the last chance to change European migration policies for a while.

The European Parliament will soon take a break for the campaign ahead of the June election. Years' worth of work would have to be redone, with the possibility of even deeper political divides in the future.

The new rules for welcoming, dividing, and sending back migrants are controversial. The agreement to keep asylum seekers in detention centers on the outskirts of Europe, even those with a small chance of being granted refuge, was one that sparked intense debate. The obligation for other EU countries to either take asylum seekers from overpopulated countries arrival, or help pay for their asylum reception, was another.

Countries such as Poland and Hungary meanwhile swear that they will continue to resist. They insist they will not allow themselves to be forced to take in asylum seekers or pay for their reception. That rule "will certainly not apply to Poland," Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.

Hungary "will keep its legal and physical border fences, migration pact or not," a government spokesperson said. The two countries have been resisting for years, but the other Member States managed to push a deal through this time.

The bills were bundled together on purpose so that a broader wave of MEPs and EU Member States would accept them. However, right- and left-wing members started to turn on the plans before the European Parliament's decisive vote. The pact's advocates lobbied intensively to keep enough MEPs on board.

Rutte's party colleague Malik Azmani and CDA member Jeroen Lenaers, two of the most important MEPs involved, were happy. “Finally,” said Lenaers, recalling “years of stagnation”. Azmani considers himself fortunate to have clear, strict rules and limits along with obligations for other EU countries to take responsibility like other Member States.

The burden will soon no longer lie "only with Western European countries, such as the Netherlands," Azmani said. SGP member Bert-Jan Ruissen also considered a good move, although he would have preferred to classify more asylum seekers as underprivileged.

Left-wing MEPs sometimes had to swallow their pride. Sophie in 't Veld (Volt) voted in favor, acknowledging it was not a perfect deal. Tineke Strik (GroenLinks) and Thijs Reuten (PvdA) were happy with the greater solidarity, but concerned about the detention of underprivileged migrants.

Demonstrators held up the vote in the Brussels meeting room for several minutes, shouting slogans from the stands. They yelled, "This pact kills! Vote no!" and held up banners with the same messages. They received support from far-left MEPs.