The European Parliament is to vote on Wednesday on a package of stricter asylum and migration rules for the European Union after years of internal dispute.
A compulsory solidarity system is the basis of the legislation, requiring all EU member states to take some form of responsibility for managing asylum applications.
If an EU country does not want to accept people applying for asylum, then that member state must give alternative assistance like financial contributions to a support fund.
Also, EU member states experiencing significant spikes in applications for asylum may call for the applicants to be distributed to other EU countries.
The most controversial part of the package involves establishing border facilities in the EU to host asylum seekers and screen and quickly send back applicants found not to be eligible.
Non-governmental organizations (NGO) have criticized the package for undermining human rights and fear the border facilities will lay the ground for systematic detention.
Overhauling the EU's migration and asylum regime has been the subject of intense work — and fierce debate — since 2015 when record numbers of migrants arrived to the bloc.
The vote takes place against a backdrop of rising EU asylum applications. In 2023, applications reached a seven-year high at 1.14 million according to EU Agency for Asylum data.
The issue typically pits the EU's centre-right and and right-wing parties who want stricter migration controls against liberals, centre-left and left-wing parties who want more legal routes to the bloc.
The European Parliament vote brings the rules one step closer to enforcement. The final vote will be among EU ministers.
