The EU has agreed to radical reforms of its migration and asylum laws, including charges of €20,000 per head for member countries that refuse to host refugees. The 27-state bloc has adopted general approaches to asylum and migration management regulation and asylum procedure regulation. Under a last-minute compromise, member states will determine what country is "safe" for migrants turned away on the grounds of not being eligible for asylum.
Countries will be obliged to show a "connection" with the country that any migrant is transferred to, but this link can be defined by the member state. This appears to give each country flexibility on whether they can return migrants to third countries that not every EU nation might agree is a safe haven.
The deal was struck after Italy and several other states demanded that the so-called "connection" rule be watered down. Italy's interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said that today is a day when something is beginning.
Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Portugal will continue campaigning for changes to exclude children and unaccompanied minors from new rules. The Dutch government praised the historic decision, while Austrians urged continued efforts to combat the Mediterranean tragedy of over 2,000 drownings and suffocations.
