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Join EU migration pact to tackle small boats, says Ed Davey
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dn3n6pvyvo
EXCERPTS: The UK should join the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact as a way of tackling small boat crossings across the Channel, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said. The agreement, which came into force in June, aims to speed up the asylum process, increase the number of irregular migrants returned to their home countries and spread responsibility for asylum seekers across the EU.
Sir Ed argues that signing up to the pact would allow the UK to return asylum seekers to the first EU country they entered, thereby "destroying the business model" of the gangs behind the crossings. Labour said the government's efforts to work with European countries to tackle small boat crossings were "bearing fruit".
[...] The EU's new pact, which was nearly 10 years in the making, introduces mandatory screening and an updated database to track those arriving in the bloc. Under the rules, EU nations must take in migrants from those member states that see the highest number of arrivals - such as Italy and Greece - or instead provide extra funding or resources.
[...] The party says the scheme would save British taxpayers money, with the cost of participating - around £100m a year - amounting to a fraction of the £5bn spent on a "failing asylum system".
[...] The EU pact replaces previous agreements - including the Dublin Regulation which allowed countries to return asylum seekers to the EU country they initially arrived in.
But the protocol had been criticised for placing a disproportionate burden on countries receiving the bulk of the arrivals. The new so-called solidarity mechanism creates a pool of about 30,000 asylum seekers to be redistributed across the 27 member states. Instead of accepting asylum seekers, participating countries could instead choose to pay €20,000 (£17,000) per person not taken.
[...] Joining the pact could prove tricky for the UK and would require unanimous approval from all EU states. The government would also have to pass new laws to implement the pact and could have to standardise its procedures with the EU bloc. (MORE - missing details)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8dn3n6pvyvo
EXCERPTS: The UK should join the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact as a way of tackling small boat crossings across the Channel, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said. The agreement, which came into force in June, aims to speed up the asylum process, increase the number of irregular migrants returned to their home countries and spread responsibility for asylum seekers across the EU.
Sir Ed argues that signing up to the pact would allow the UK to return asylum seekers to the first EU country they entered, thereby "destroying the business model" of the gangs behind the crossings. Labour said the government's efforts to work with European countries to tackle small boat crossings were "bearing fruit".
[...] The EU's new pact, which was nearly 10 years in the making, introduces mandatory screening and an updated database to track those arriving in the bloc. Under the rules, EU nations must take in migrants from those member states that see the highest number of arrivals - such as Italy and Greece - or instead provide extra funding or resources.
[...] The party says the scheme would save British taxpayers money, with the cost of participating - around £100m a year - amounting to a fraction of the £5bn spent on a "failing asylum system".
[...] The EU pact replaces previous agreements - including the Dublin Regulation which allowed countries to return asylum seekers to the EU country they initially arrived in.
But the protocol had been criticised for placing a disproportionate burden on countries receiving the bulk of the arrivals. The new so-called solidarity mechanism creates a pool of about 30,000 asylum seekers to be redistributed across the 27 member states. Instead of accepting asylum seekers, participating countries could instead choose to pay €20,000 (£17,000) per person not taken.
[...] Joining the pact could prove tricky for the UK and would require unanimous approval from all EU states. The government would also have to pass new laws to implement the pact and could have to standardise its procedures with the EU bloc. (MORE - missing details)