Analysis of the New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum
On October 27, Romanian Institute for Human Rights participated at the webinar organized by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), which aimed at cultivating an informal discussion forum amongrelevant European NHRIs and other interested partners (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights) with the purpose of analyzing the provisions of the New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.
Adopted on September 23, 2020, the New Pact includes, among others, legislative proposals on asylum and return procedures, border screenings and the establishment in all Member States of a mechanism to monitor the fundamental rights of persons involved in the migration phenomenon.
The event analyzed challenges related to the Pact, two main areas of interest being identified: (1) the functionality of the independent monitoring mechanism - in this regard, we note that, according to the provisions of the Pact (Article 7 concerning the screening proposal), Member States may invite relevant national, international and non-governmental organizations and bodies to participate in the monitoring activity; (2) the applied correlative procedures.
The landmarks for the interpretation and application of the Pact were also identified: (1) the provisions of the New Pact propose the flexibility and efficiency of migration and asylum management procedures; (2) the procedures on screening, asylum and return are applied according to the principle of integrated perspective;(3) proposals were made on: maritime and rescue operations, the definition and prevention of illegal migration, the development of a legal instrument of crisis addressing situations of force majeure in the field of migration and asylum, the development of a Regulation on the management of asylum and migrationwhich introduces a new solidarity mechanism as well as the revision of theEurodac Regulation.
During the discussions, the Pact was described as a complex instrument bringing together legislative and non-legal proposals, the most important provisions of which are analyzed in the light of the envisaged opportunities, future courses of action and limitations identified by the participants.
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