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Member states facing large flows of migrants could speed up
procedures and ask for solidarity contributions from other EU
countries, in terms of relocating asylum seekers or financial
help.
"This a real game changer that allows us to advance
negotiations," European Commission President Ursula von der
Leyen said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"I'm very happy that member states have now agreed on the crisis
regulation, which is an important piece of the puzzle in the
migration and asylum pact," Swedish migration minister Maria
Malmer Stenergard said.
"Now we can move on with the negotiations between the Council,
the Commission and the European Parliament. It is important to
get the pact in place, to ensure order at the EU's external
borders and reduce flows."
Wednesday's meeting was the last chance to seal a deal before
the bloc's 27 national leaders meet in Spain's Granada on
Thursday and Friday, where they are due to discuss irregular
migration amid increased arrivals across the Mediterranean,
including to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
A dispute over NGOs picking up people in the sea prevented an
deal among the EU's migration ministers last week but the bloc
is still keen to get it done ahead of key elections in Germany,
Poland and a pan-European parliamentary vote in 2024.
Countries like Poland and Hungary remain staunchly opposed to
hosting any people arriving from the Middle East and Africa but
the 27 can still get a majority agreement that the two alone
cannot block.
(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Marine Strauss and Bart
Meijer; editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
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