...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
politicians approved Wednesday a major revamp of the bloc’s migration laws, hoping to end years of division over how to manage the entry of thousands of people without authorization and deprive the far right of a vote-winning campaign issue ahead of June elections.
In a series of 10 votes, members of the European Parliament endorsed the regulations and policies that make up the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The reforms address the thorny issue of who should take responsibility for
The proceedings were briefly interrupted by a small but noisy group of demonstrators in the public gallery who wore shirts marked "this pact kills" and shouted "vote no!"
The 27 EU member countries must now endorse the reform package, possibly in a vote in late April, before it can take effect.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, a former lead politician on migration who helped pave the way for the reform package, posted "History made," on X, formerly Twitter, after the votes.
"It has been more than 10 years in the making. But we kept our word. A balance between solidarity and responsibility. This is the European way," she wrote.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the result as a "major and very important success."
"After years of tough negotiations, we have agreed on this comprehensive package. We have thus overcome a deep division in Europe," said Faeser, whose country has been a top destination for people seeking refuge, in a written statement.
"We continue to protect people fleeing terrible wars, terror, torture and murder. But this responsibility for refugees will be spread across more shoulders in future," she added.
The plan was drawn up after 1.3 million people, mostly those fleeing war in Syria and Iraq, sought refuge in Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...in 2015. The EU’s asylum system collapsed, reception centers were overwhelmed in Greece and Italia, and countries further north built barriers to stop people entering.
But few have admitted to being happy with the new policy response to one of Europe’s biggest political crises, and even the politicians who drafted parts of the new regulations are unwilling to support the entire reform package.
"I’m not going to open a bottle of champagne after this," Dutch politician Sophie i’nt Veld, who drew up the assembly’s position on migrant reception conditions, told news hounds on the eve of the plenary session in Brussels.