Arya News - European Union countries face fines for refusing to re-home refugees, as part of a new migration crackdown.
European Union countries face fines for refusing to re-home refugees, as part of a new migration crackdown.
Ministers agreed on a legally binding target that will see 21,000 migrants relocated from frontline countries, such as Italy and Greece, to elsewhere across the bloc.
Governments that refuse to take in someone will be charged a €20,000 (£17,500) penalty per person, which will be given to member states willing to accept migrants under the scheme.
The move is likely to prove highly controversial, with countries including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia and Poland already seeking opt-outs from the relocation scheme.
Viktor Orban’s Hungary has said his government will not allow Brussels to re-home any migrants in the country .
In 2024, there were just 29 asylum claims in Hungary - ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP
The EU’s new migration pact contains provisions for harsher rules to detain and deport failed asylum seekers and the creation of “return hubs” outside the bloc where migrants with no right to remain can be removed to.
Stricter rules will also be introduced allowing authorities to raid homes and seize property in order to enforce deportations.
“It’s a turning point in European migration and asylum policy altogether,” Magnus Brunner, the migration commissioner, said.
The EU’s latest migration crackdown is likely to prove highly controversial - Petros Giannakouris/AP
The agreement is seen as the most significant overhaul of the bloc’s rules for deporting illegal migrants amid growing concerns over the impact migration is having on the continent .
Sir Keir Starmer has explored a similar policy of deporting failed asylum seekers to return hubs in safe third countries . But the EU’s latest rules could go further, potentially opening up the door to the creation of centres similar to Britain’s Rwanda strategy, which was abandoned by the Prime Minister .
EU ministers agreed that the bloc would be able to immediately reject asylum claims if the person had sought similar protections outside of the bloc.
This could be applied to cases where an EU country has a deal to process asylum claims.
The Netherlands recently brokered a deal to send migrants to Uganda, which could be an example followed by other member states.
For the first time, the bloc also designated foreign countries, including Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Kosovo, Morocco and Tunisia, as “safe”, meaning any arrivals from the destinations deported while following less stringent procedures.
Human rights campaigners have criticised the new measures, with some claiming they have turned the EU into a “police state”.
“This approach mirrors the harrowing, dehumanising and unlawful mass arrests, detention and deportations in the US, which are tearing families apart and devastating communities,” Amnesty’s Olivia Sundberg Diez said.
“This new proposal carries the hallmarks of a police state,” Silvia Carta, advocacy officer at Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants, added.
The International Rescue Committee said the pact was the “dawn of a dangerous new era” for the EU.
Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.