EU Agrees to Overhaul Immigration System
The European Union agreed to major reforms of its laws on handling asylum-seekers and migrants on December 20, described by European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas as a “breakthrough.”
Illegal immigration: The goal of the agreement is to reduce the amount of illegal immigration to the EU. In 2023, more than 355,000 illegal entries into the EU were registered by border agency Frontex, an increase of 17 percent. The new laws will ensure quicker vetting of asylum-seekers and faster deportation if requests are rejected.
Solidarity: The reform includes a “solidarity mechanism” to relieve southern countries that face large numbers of asylum-seekers by relocating them to other EU states. Countries that refuse to take them in will financially support those countries that do.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola praised the deal as a “landmark agreement” that “will go down in history.”
Relieved: Leaders in Germany, Italy and Greece, which have seen particularly large numbers of migrants arriving, expressed relief at the deal.
The approval of the pact is a great success for Europe and for Italy [which] has always played a leading role in order to affirm a balanced solution so that EU border countries, which are particularly exposed to migratory pressure, no longer feel alone.
—Matteo Piantedosi, Italian interior minister
French reforms: The EU agreement came a day after France passed a strict new immigration bill that boosts its government’s ability to deport foreigners and limits access to welfare and citizenship for foreign residents. Far-right, anti-immigration party leader Marine Le Pen claimed the new legislation was an “ideological victory.”
The Trumpet says: The Trumpet has warned for decades that Europe will turn against its largely Muslim migrant population. In 2018, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry described the situation:
A trend is unfolding in Europe that you should keep a close watch on. Europeans have been besieged by immigrants from the Middle East, growing Muslim populations within their midst, cityscapes filling with mosques and minarets, portions of their cities turning into Muslim enclaves that local police dare not enter, even Islamic terrorist attacks.
Watch as Europe takes increasingly extreme measures against its immigrants and for rising tensions to culminate in a prophesied clash between Europe and the Islamic world.
Learn more: Read our Trends article “Why the Trumpet Watches Iran and Europe Heading for a Clash of Civilizations.”
