Parliament gives its final green light to the reform of the EU’s asylum and migration rules. The new rules ensure responsibility sharing among Member States in the management of migrant arrivals, a more efficient response in case of crisis, and respect of fundamental rights. Before the vote, MEPs review the ten legal acts in a debate with Council and Commission. Opening statements by Birgit SIPPEL (S&D, DE), Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR), Tomas TOBÉ (EPP, SE), Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA (ECR, ES), Malin BJÖRK (The Left, SE), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), rapporteurs, and Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs. This transcription is a result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Brussels

plenary session

migration and refugees in Europe (T)

LÓPEZ AGUILAR, Juan Fernando (S&D, ES)

SIPPEL, Birgit (S&D, DE)

IN 'T VELD, Sophia (Renew, NL)

asylum procedures in the EU (T)

joint debate

BJÖRK, Malin (The Left, SE)

KELLER, Fabienne (Renew, FR)

TOBÉ, Tomas (EPP, SE)

BUXADÉ VILLALBA, Jorge (ECR, ES)

JOHANSSON, Ylva (SE, EC)

new pact on asylum and migration (T)

NEMEC, Matjaž (S&D, SI)

Joint Debate - Migration and Asylum package: Opening statements by Rapporteurs

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&amp;D, DE), Rapporteur, Colleagues, the European migration policy of past years is unsustainable. There is a systematic violation of human rights on our borders, pushbacks which are not followed up and a Dublin system that is not good for the people seeking protection of the Member States. So it's clear that Europe needs in this legislative period, if finally an efficient and effective solution for migration and asylum, clear rules for control, solidarity, all of which based on our values of democracy, rule of law and fundamental rights, including the right of asylum in Europe. And for that reason, this reform of the common European asylum system, this is just a part of an overall migration policy. And this right now, what we're missing, is a stronger role for civil society and municipalities, cooperation with third countries on an even basis, without outsourcing our responsibilities, and, not the least, a further possibilities for legal entry into the EU in o...

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&D, DE), Rapporteur, Only when we meet these challenges and address these challenges are we going to have sustainable future immigration in the interest of everyone. And so there's lots of work to do in the future years. Right now, however, we're addressing this specific package, which includes proposals which some of which have been concluded for eight years. And because of the blockade of Member States, we had to wait this long for a conclusion. That is really a shame. It's shameful. And the conditions in which the negotiations with the Council took place, instead of having a loyal cooperation between the institutions as enshrined in the Treaty, there were a lot of refusals to compromise without clear arguments.

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&D, DE), Rapporteur, So today we're not voting on a perfect package of legislation. It's not even a good a very good package, and I'm not going to be reticent with my criticise. This includes the decisions about the indicating that third countries are safe. These are things that we could particularly criticise in these terms. Also in my report for Screening we had to make concessions, for example, screening of persons who are already on the territory of the Member State. Here are really quite a lot of doubts as whether the existing legal basis actually allows such screening. But still in the package there are positive elements as well.

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&D, DE), Rapporteur, In the screening there's important protection measures and uniform measures laid down, which is a clear strengthening, including an independent mechanism to monitor fundamental rights. And for the first time there's going to be solidarity in the cooperation of Member States. It's obligatory. This is a very important first step in sharing responsibility and addressing resettlement as well.

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&D, DE), Rapporteur, Now, with these different text and in this overall picture as well, this is very important for our decision and that demonstrates after years of inertia in the Council. Now, finally, it's possible to have an agreement on asylum reform and then we can achieve throughout Europe that European law will be respected and that Member States with qualified majority vote will actually implement what we've decided upon. And we expect from the Commission, as the guardian of the Treaty, to live up to that role and then especially under Mrs. von der Leyen has neglected this role or ignored it completely.

SOUNDBITE (German), Birgit SIPPEL (S&D, DE), Rapporteur, So, colleagues, now I'm going to conclude our efforts to have a progressive policy that demonstrates solidarity. It doesn't end today. And there were some problems. The deficiencies in legislation. So that's why one of our key jobs in the future mandate will be to ensure that these are implemented fairly and evenly throughout all Member States, including the right to asylum. And then if  that is carried out, then this can also be a step in the right direction. Thank you very much.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR), Rapporteur, President, Commissioner, dear Ylva Johansson. Ladies and gentlemen. It's the moment of truth now. After three and a half years of complex and demanding work, and almost ten years after the migratory crisis of Syrian refugees, we are now facing a crucial vote to finally reform the European asylum and migration system. This pact is a consistent whole, which takes finally into consideration the challenges we face for migration.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR), Rapporteur, There are four priorities here. First of all, to assure strategic steerage in policies between the 27 Member States on asylum and migration with a clear role for the Commission to coordinate and follow up. Secondly, a solidarity mechanism that is unprecedented at European level to help Member States if they end up under pressure or migratory crisis. The third approach: to have better control on illegal immigration at the European borders with thanks to accelerated border procedures at the border with those who obviously do not have the right to asylum. Finally, putting in place a more harmonised asylum procedure, more efficient within the European Union, along with flanking rights for families and children, for everybody requesting asylum.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR), Rapporteur, These different legal instruments will allow the European Union to be better equipped to respond to the main challenges of immigration. This practice is not going to solve all problems, but it constitutes a step forward, a huge step forward, towards genuine control and good humane management of migration in France, in Europe and across our continent.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR), Rapporteur, This isn't the end of our journey either however. We have to undertake great efforts, as my colleague Birgit Sippel pointed out, to make sure rules are respected across the EU. With my Renew group, we will be following up on this implementation with a close watching brief, and we count on the Commission, Commissioner, to play its full role as guardian of the Treaties. We've already started working, by the way, on measures for families.

SOUNDBITE (French), Fabienne KELLER (Renew, FR), Rapporteur, 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have shouldered our responsibilities. If you vote against this pact, you are going to hand victory to the extreme right in Europe, who've done everything to stop results and solutions being found for the challenges of migration. The Rassemblement National in France, for example, wouldn't be happy with these results. They feed into the problems with cynicism. Or voting in favour of this pact, assuming responsibility. Those are the alternatives. Centrist and pro-European parties, I would call on all of you to support this pact, not just because people want acts, but because they want acts rather than just words. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Tomas TOBÉ (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, President, Commissioners, today we have an historic opportunity to finally put in place a common European migration policy. After migration crisis,  after political failure we can finally deliver to the European citizens. Most of us understand, that if we have a common external border, they also need more common migration policy. The EPP Group will support the migration pact. We think that it is crucial that we start to take back control from the smugglers, because we need to decide who will actually enter the European Union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Tomas TOBÉ (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, 'We need to strengthen our common border because only so can we also ensure that we move towards a policy when we can give protection to those in need and not to irregular migrants. We also, in the migration pact, finally acknowledge that we need to cooperate also with third countries, if we want to manage migration in a better way in the future. And finally, and perhaps even more important- in the migration pact, we make it clear that we need to cooperate better within the union.

SOUNDBITE (English), Tomas TOBÉ (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, It cannot be so that this comes to a responsibility for a few Member States where we try to find different ad hoc solution. Now we make it clear that this is a responsibility for everyone to contribute, and this is basically about building trust. Building trust between the Member States, but also building trust from the citizens, that the European politicians actually can deliver also when it comes to migration. Yes, the negotiations have been long and let's be honest, they have been hard. Even within this House and together with the Council, but from the EPP Group, I would like to thank for the cooperation with the S&D  group and the Renew group and also with some responsible delegations in the ECR group.

SOUNDBITE (English), Tomas TOBÉ (EPP, SE), Rapporteur, 'But I still hear many colleagues in this House now, that is ready to do whatever it takes to stop the migration pact. And I would like to turn to the Left group and the Greens group. You very often give speeches about the far-rights, but the truth is, today you want to stop the migration pact together with Le Pen and AfD. That is the truth. Instead, you should vote in favour of the migration pact, because then we could put a stop to the horrific numbers of deaths on the Mediterranean Sea. Don't leave this in the hands of the smugglers. Colleagues, today we have an opportunity to send a clear message. Europe can agree also on divisive issues. Let's move away from the political deadlock, let's move forward to a migration policy that actually works for everyone, and that will for certain work better than what we have today. Vote in favour of the migration pact, vote in favour for Europe. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Juan Fernando L&Oacute;PEZ AGUILAR (S&amp;D, ES), Rapporteur, Thank you President. Vice president. Commissioner. Members of the European Parliament. Here we are proceeding to a decisive vote, not just looking to the past and the present in the European Parliament, but really looking to the future. Because we're looking at a first step in completing a mandate in the Charter of Fundamental Rights. We will be making now a common migration and asylum policy that gives added value to the unilateral, fragmented solutions that the states have taken thus far that we consider unfair and unsustainable. So finally, we will be implementing a European right and doing it with respect for our values.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, We will be taking a binding five regulation arrangement approach specifically in the crisis one. We know that in the past, we had cases where a country would have a significant inflow of irregular migrants. There were risky rescue missions also in some Member States and islands. And we had this case of European solidarity. Now we have European solidarity, which through implementing the act gives the Commission an ability, along with the Council, to assist Member States through a solidarity in an ordered and coordinated European approach. We have the AMIF, the fund that will assist Member States to be able to rise to these emergencies.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, Now, finally, we're going to have a European legislation that is clear. Legal certainty. To date, we had just had action or reaction. And now we have common guarantees, specifically with protection of those that are the most vulnerable. Women, women with children's with children, unaccompanied minors, those who need differentiated treatment. This was something that was very much front and centre in our negotiation. Now, it wasn't easy, of course, extremely decisive and very thorny and for a long time. And we know that the negotiation was not easy in the European Parliament, nor was it easy with the 27 ministries in the Council in the final stage.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, In every negotiation, there have to be some concessions, but you have to give legal certainty that is more important than anything else. Rather than leaving things as they are. Abandoning the Member States to their own approach. Each time you have an emergency or a migration inflow in the Canary Islands or the Greek islands, up until now, it has been national, the response, and there was no assistance from or solidarity from Europe. This can no longer be the case.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And what in the run up to the elections, we can say we have done everything that we could, and we are finishing our mandate with this common joint ordered approach, so that we don't leave it to the smugglers who are just exploiting this, making sure that there are legal ways so that people can come to Europe without tragically losing their life, which something that has been happening for far too long. We have clear rules with the limits, and all of the criticism, of course, could be levelled against this in such a complex negotiation. It wasn't a good idea to leave the Member States alone in this.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Juan Fernando LÓPEZ AGUILAR (S&D, ES), Rapporteur, And to conclude, after all of this work that we have carried out,  all of the energy that we have expended, it would be much worse to leave the situation as it is. It's insufferable. And to state that we weren't able to achieve. It's much better for us to make a step forward. Let us vote in favour on every single one of the laws that are included in this package. Thank you very much, President.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA (ECR, ES), Rapporteur, Thank you. President. Commissioners. Thank you to the shadows. Now, we have a political approach to this. We need to be simple and clear in the words. And I'd like to thank everyone for having done just that. It's not something that always is the case in this House. Thank you to the assistants for all of their work. We were able to carry out this revision of Eurodac, we have an amplified, broadened database to identify illegal immigrants and any asylum seekers who try to come to the European territory without declaring their presence on our territory.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA (ECR, ES), Rapporteur, Now, this is a database that will have not only asylum requests, but those individuals who are asylum shopping or requesting residence permits in various countries. Perhaps for this, many NGOs who are cooperating with the smugglers, whether they realise it or not, are so much against Eurodac. But we realised that we have Eurodac revision, fingerprints and facial images and there is also the possibility to have an alert if there is a threat to European security.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA (ECR, ES), Rapporteur, Moreover, we have all of the different cases of international protection to avoid secondary movements, if such that there is no abuse of international protection systems. So facial imaging, ID documents, which will assist the authorities in identifying those who have false documents or who try to hide their identity from border authorities. This happens massively in Spain currently. Now we know that we have lowered the age from 14 to 16 years of age for the collection of this data. This will assist us in making sure that the children minors are, unified with their families, and not exploited.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA (ECR, ES), Rapporteur, Now, we have to take this legislation. We have to be able to comply with it. And if that weren't the case, we will find a way to prosecute or send you back to your country of origin. Now, it is a start. There's much that remains to be done. When people come, for example, to the Canary Islands, and they have committed offences in their home countries, when European countries need to request this information, they can get the criminal records from those home countries via Eurodac and use that as a reason to reject the asylum claim.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA (ECR, ES), Rapporteur, Now, with Algeria and Mauritania, we know that there is a route to the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean. We need to have ordered returns by all of those using every legitimate approach that we have. We can even suspend Trade Agreements if we need to, or development aid if this is not complied with. We cannot have a fraudulent or illegitimate approach to requesting asylum. We are prohibiting extraordinary regularisation of migrants, making sure that we are able to approach this in a way, such that all are complying with the rules.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA (ECR, ES), Rapporteur, Now, moralistic capitalism is an insult to our intelligence. The Left is trying to assist those who would prey on us, lowering our salaries by bringing in workers who would create social dumping. Now, we should not have this type of a policy in Europe. The majority of Europeans realise that and we are now undertaking the measures to uphold our security, protect employment and protect the future of Europeans. And Eurodac is just the first step in that direction. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Malin BJÖRK (The Left, SE), Rapporteur, Thank you very much. The Left Party is highly critical of the agreement that's being debated on and put to the vote today. Hundreds of NGOs and organisations who work with the reception of migrants and in life saving have been very clear. We will say no to this agreement. The vote that will take place later will not resolve the problems that it was meant to resolve. This won't be an automatic redistribution of those seeking protection. The first country of arrival will still be responsible. There's no real solidarity built in here. Nothing is being done. Absolutely nothing to stop the death in the Mediterranean.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Malin BJÖRK (The Left, SE), Rapporteur, 'On the contrary, the borders, which become more and more closed off, will see more brutality, and so people have to take worse risks and take more dangerous routes. We'll get more of what is not working. And I wish that more of you had been there and seen what happens at the EU's borders, because we'll have more systematic defence, detention of people at the EU's borders with the dehumanisation that that involves. We'll see more violence and humiliation, and I can assure you there's a lot of that already. We'll see deterrence, and we'll see defence. We'll see detention. We'll see more cooperation with despots. You remember, we started with Turkey, but here we are, the Libyan so-called Coast Guard, which is forcing people back to violence and torture, where people are turning people back to them to be tortured. We're doing everything to stop people coming to us.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Malin BJÖRK (The Left, SE), Rapporteur, 'One of the most serious problems with this agreement is that the individual right to seek asylum is being attacked. It's being undermined in a terrible way, because the EU will be able to say, "Oh, you came from a so-called safe third country. You won't even get a request for protection monitored". So your request for protection will not even be checked. And that's basically undermining the right to asylum.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Malin BJÖRK (The Left, SE), Rapporteur, Now, many of you here say, well, we couldn't have done anything else. We've heard this before, haven't we? There is no alternative. Well, why are you involved in politics if you're happy with this dystopian, falling in with the right wing footsteps, the extremists. That's not the way the Left party wants to go. We from all parties, we all know that we can do things better. We proved that when Putin's bombs were falling on Ukrainian citizens, we made sure that we gave protection to those who had to flee. That is the path we should have taken. That is still the path we should choose. Not this brutal, dehumanised way.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Malin BJÖRK (The Left, SE), Rapporteur, There is a proposal that actually is quite prominent amongst the proposals, and that is a left report from me about a migrant quota system to make sure the most vulnerable migrants will be helped. We work with UNHCR and others. We made sure we support those countries who are having to take in many migrants, sometimes millions of migrants. That is what we do in the left. We roll up our sleeves when the rest of you political families here want to close off borders, increase brutality, get rid of the right to asylum. We on the left open up safe and legal routes for migration.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Malin BJÖRK (The Left, SE), Rapporteur, This package, including the migrant quota system, is not obligatory for Member States. But it is one way for people to find a safe route to Europe, and I'm proud of that. And I hope that every single Member State takes this opportunity to protect people, those who are seeking protection in Europe, because that is the Europe that people want to see. They don't want to be part of a dystopian Europe where the only choice is to kowtow to the nationalist right. We know that we can do things better. So make sure you vote through the the Left Forces when you have an opportunity to go to the ballot box in June. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Rapporteur, Thank you very much. Europe is at a turning point. Migration and Asylum policy are amongst the most decisive topics for our citizens and for the politics as a whole. And often that means manipulation, blackmail or excuses. Now, we felt these consequences across the Schengen area and reform of the entire area of migration was absolutely necessary. In the long run, the survival of the Union will depend on this. Therefore, following eight years of blockage and several attempts, we have succeeded. Later on, we will be voting on the entire package of Revised Migration and Asylum legislation. With them, Europe enters a new era.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Rapporteur, What we have on the table is not a perfect solution, but it is a compromise. But reform is a strategic necessity. We, in the European Parliament, accept with a heavy heart. But we will not run away from our responsibility. Europeans expect this from us. I, myself, was the Rapporteur for the Revision of the Qualification Regulation. Before that, it was negotiated by Tanja Fajon, my colleague, and I'd like to thank her.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Rapporteur, The bulk of the text had already been agreed upon in 2018. Back then, Europe and the world were different. I am convinced that such a text would not have been possible at that time. So, the proposed Qualification Regulation was part of the first failed Asylum policy reform in 2016. The regulation will replace the existing Qualifications Directive and provides, on the one hand, standards regarding the conditions for obtaining international protection in the Union, either refugee status or subsidiary protection status. And on the other hand, the rights of the beneficiaries in case of a positive decision.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Rapporteur, This regulation will have and disincentive effect on asylum shopping, and thus indirectly on the occurrence of secondary migration. Until now, the application of the Directive had been extremely arbitrary amongst countries. It was implemented in national legislation via a directive, but there were major discrepancies. We know of cases, for example, where an applicant for international protection from Afghanistan had zero chance of a positive decision in one Member State and nigh on 100% chance of receiving it in another Member State. We hope that such stories will be a thing of the past, and that Europe will really come to life in this area as well.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Rapporteur, Let me now just focus on the main points of substance. Among the main achievements of the Qualification Regulation is the uniform minimum length of residence permit. So, this will be three years for a refugee, one year for subsidiary protection and two years if renewed. The renewal of the status will not be automatic or mandatory. The status belongs to the beneficiary as long as there is a need for this protection, and I am particularly proud of this aspect. We also managed to expand the definition of family for the purposes of this regulation. One of the new things in the regulation is the assessment of the availability of international protection. It was thanks to the Parliament that we were able to severely limit this principle. This will be mandatory. Only in cases where prosecution of the applicant is not carried out by the State.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Rapporteur, Refugees will also receive more protection due to the faster issuance of residence permits, which must also be free of charge. According to the new rules, the period of stay is counted towards the period of obtaining a permanent residence permit. This will now be counted for the time of the application was submitted, and not before only half the time from filing the application to recognition of protection. The processing of applications can take more than a year in some cases, so this change is extremely important.

SOUNDBITE (Slovenian), Matjaž NEMEC (S&D, SI), Rapporteur, Now, beneficiaries will also be treated equally with citizens of the host country in terms of the rights, such as social health care and access to work and education. Under the new law, unaccompanied minors we know that they are specifically vulnerable, will be entitled to more protection and safeguards. And in this case, I am also extremely proud of the Parliament's success. And I'd like to thank you, colleagues, for your attention, and I hope that we will vote in favour of this.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, Thank Colleagues. you. Commissioner. Big majority of Europeans want a humane and controlled European migration policy, and that is why we have to end years of chaos and inhumane circumstances, because we will not be able to explain to our voters that we end this term in chaos. We have witnessed through recent years the total collapse of trust between the Member States. We have seen pushbacks and violence at the external borders, inhumane reception conditions, and asylum seekers sleeping on the streets of the richest countries on this planet.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, Over the past eight years, we have worked tirelessly for a package that is in line with our values, while the political climate is getting chillier by the day. Compromises have been reached just before Christmas with great difficulty, and I find it tragic that this House found itself defending European values against the Council. Because, regretfully, many governments are not upholding those same values, and they will aim to deny as many asylum claims as possible and put as many people in indefinite detention as they can, including children.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, That is why the European Commission needs to be tough and enforce the law that we're going to vote today. The European Commission will have to do a lot more to convince us that it will actually enforce the new pact, because in recent years it allowed human rights violations to happen and it didn't lift a finger. I'm sorry to say.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, Dirty deals with Tunisia colleagues cannot be considered a confidence building measure either for that matter. But this House also has a responsibility. We will have to hold the European Commission to account, and we have not done so for the last five years. If we're criticising the Commission, and I am criticising the Commission, we also have to acknowledge that we let the Commission get away with it for the past five years, and we didn't lift a finger.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, Today, in the vote, the far right will be showing its true colours. It will vote against because it doesn't really want solutions. It wants chaos and misery to continue because that's what they feed on. They're also colleagues who will vote against for understandable and legitimate reasons, and I share many of their concerns. But I still think that we should endorse the package because we have a responsibility as politicians, because if we reject the pact, there will be nothing in its place. There's not going to be a better alternative, but we'll end up with a situation where no single rule will be respected anymore and will end in a race to the bottom and the end to the right of asylum in Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, We cannot, unfortunately, legislate away an ultra right majority, because even if you reject the package, that majority will still be there and it may actually be bigger in the next term. And are you going to entrust the next Parliament with the elaboration of our asylum policies? Well, not me, colleagues, not me.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, With regard to my own file, the Reception Conditions Directive, we've obtained many guarantees and safeguards for asylum seekers, especially for the most vulnerable. We have ensured a legal representative for all unaccompanied children from the day they arrive. We made sure that the detention of children is the absolute exception and only with judicial authorisation. We have guaranteed asylum seekers access to education and language courses and quicker access to the labour market. We ensured specific attention for vulnerable groups like women, children and LGBTQ people.

SOUNDBITE (English), Sophia IN 'T VELD (Renew, NL), Rapporteur, The standards laid down in the Reception Conditions Directive will apply to the entire package, and upholding all of these elements in the implementation of the package is crucial, because it can only work if it has the trust of everyone. The weakness lies not in the legal text, Colleagues, that is quite clear. It lies in the implementation by the Member States and enforcement by the European Commission. So today we need to prove the cynics wrong and show that asylum is a European matter requiring a European response in line with our European values. And we take responsibility. Thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Thank you. President. Honourable members. Migration is about human beings. It's about men, women and children. And when our migration policy fails, human beings pay the price. It's time to fix our broken migration policy. Our citizens expect us to protect people fleeing war and persecution. They expect us to welcome people who come legally for work or study. But at the same time, they expect that to prevent irregular arrivals and deadly journeys, and to swiftly return those who don't have the right to stay. And this is what the Pact on Migration and Asylum is all about.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, The pact will help us to protect people, to protect our borders and manage migration in an orderly way. I would like to thank all the Rapporteurs, the shadows, and your staff. The political agreement on the table is an amazing achievement. It's a true compromise for sure. I would like to thank the EPP, the S&D and the Renew groups for your intense efforts. Thank you for the courage to compromise. It's essential to show that courage also today in the vote.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, The vote will be a close one, and this is a now or never moment. This moment will not come back. History is watching, and our voters are watching. Today's vote is about four years of intense legislative work. No, it's infact eight years of intense legislative work. When we presented the pact four years ago, no one was really passionate about it, but no one fully rejected it either. And this same truth holds today. After the four years you have worked on this proposals, you have improved it. The agreement on the table, once again, shows Europe can deliver for its citizens. And now it's time to take responsibility.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Four years ago, the blockage was in the Council. Now the decision is in your hands, and it's an all or nothing decision. All files must pass or no files will pass. The last four years, we have met so often here in the plenary to discuss our EU action on migration challenges. Shipwrecks where the massive loss of lives. Catastrophic fires in Lipa, in Moria. Sudden increase of arrivals into Canaries, into Lampedusa.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, 'Every time the conclusion was we need a European response. Every time we thought it couldn't get any more difficult, it suddenly did. Covid-19, Lukashenko's attempt to create a crisis by instrumentalized migrants, the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, humanitarian and admissionary settlement of people most at risk, Russia's war of aggression. We are now hosting more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees.  Why did not let these crisis overwhelm us? We did not let this crisis overwhelm us.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, And you know what I realised? The more challenging the crisis, the more European our response. We did not allow these crises to distract us. All those years, your patient work of lawmaking continued. The Blue Card unblocked after many years, the asylum agency unblocked. 44 trialogues, the negotiations on the pact, and I attended almost all of them. And now we finally have on the table a comprehensive European approach on migration, with uniform EU rules on asylum procedures, screening at the border, quicker protection for those likely to be granted asylum, and quicker returns for those who don't have the right to stay. New safeguards to protect vulnerable people, especially minors and families with children. Clear rules to prevent overcrowded reception centres. New, robust and independent monitoring mechanism to uphold rights at the border. And for the first time ever, mandatory solidarity: s...

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, In a few hours you will vote. This is your moment. You are the legislators. Our citizens are watching. A vote for the pact will bring real change for the better. It shows Europe can compromise. Europe can manage also huge challenges. If the vote on the pact fails, we all fail. The world is also watching. Whenever I go to third countries, they say, "So, you come here to discuss migration? Why don't you put your own house in order first?". Now we can put our House in order. In February, I attended a Munich Security Conference. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, Filippo Grandi was asked if there is one single thing you can wish for to be implemented next year for better migration, what will that be. He answered, the Pact. And Europe is watching.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ylva JOHANSSON, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, With a pact, we can manage one of Europe's biggest challenges, migration, in a sustainable way, based on our values. Now, I will ask you to take the final and vital step and vote for the pact. As some of you know, I like football very much. So let me put it like this. We are in the finals. Everything is at stake. We are not watching from the stands. We are on the pitch. The ball is rolling. Now, it is the time to come together as a team and to score for Europe. It can take years until we are in the final again, if ever. We have this one opportunity and we have to take it. Thank you.