Stricter EU immigration laws are approved by the European Parliament

The European Parliament approved significant changes to the EU's immigration and asylum policies, aiming to expedite the rejection of applications and distribute asylum more fairly.

The European Parliament voted for broad changes to the EU's immigration and asylum policies on Wednesday. The objective of the recently established EU Asylum and Migration Pact is to better control the effects of migration inside the bloc by expediting the rejection of erroneous applications and more fairly allocating the processing load of asylum claims across member states. The vote was held in the wake of years of intense debate between conservative and liberal parliamentarians, as well as between northern and southern EU member states, and at the height of a seven-year surge in asylum requests in the EU in 2023. Before the changes to the EU's asylum system take effect in 2026, member state ministers still need to confirm them, likely by the end of April. Nonetheless, member nations consider signing off to be a formality.

The EU has introduced a new system for illegal immigrants to undergo identity, health, and security checks within seven days. This includes biometric facial and fingerprint readings, aiming to determine which migrants should be returned to their country of origin or transit. Children will be given special consideration and nations must establish impartial monitoring systems. Priority processing will be given to asylum seekers from countries where citizens' claims are typically denied, such as Tunisia, Morocco, and Bangladesh.