On 6 April, during the plenary session, MEPs assessed the application of asylum rules in the EU and the allegations of breaches of the right to asylum and non-refoulement. MEPs referred to reports of pushbacks at different EU borders such as the Greek-Turkish border and the Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish borders with Belarus. Besides insisting on the need to guarantee decent reception conditions for people seeking international protection in the EU, they called for the principle of international law in Article 33 of the Geneva Convention, which prohibits the return of refugees to countries where their lives may be threatened, to be respected.

Europe has a duty to respect the need for international protectoin of people in need, in accordance with the Geneva Convention. The EU has put in place a Common European Asylum System in 2013. It sets minimum standards for the treatment of all asylum seekers and applications across the EU.

The migration crisis highlighted the need to reform EU asylum rules.Under current rules, asylum seekers are not treated uniformly across the EU and the proportion of positive asylum decisions in different countries also varies greatly. As a result of this asylum seekers travel around Europe and apply for asylum in the countries where they believe they will have a higher chance of receiving international protection.

As part of a more general reform of EU migration and asylum rules, on 23 September 2020 the European Commission proposed a new pact on migration and asylum. The proposal provides for a comprehensive common European framework for migration and asylum management, including several legislative proposals.

There are also previous legislative proposals from 2016 that have not been affected by the new Commission's proposal, and on which progress has already been achieved.

Concerning the budget, in July the European Parliament adopted two funds for asylum and border policies- the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (€9.88 billion) and the Integrated Border Management Fund (€6.24 billion) - intended to strenghten EU´s common asylum policy, develop legal migration, fight against irregular migration and strengthen EU external border management.

Press conference on the new asylum and migration rules

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