“The European Parliament has now voted to import millions of migrants, a decision that the vast majority of citizens in the member states firmly oppose. This is both a disregard for democracy and a monstrous betrayal of ordinary people.”
The EU Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs voted on the provisions of the new EU migration pact this week. Some voting lists were not circulated until late in the evening the day before the vote, some even a few hours before it. The session was correspondingly chaotic, with MEPs barely able to determine what they were voting on.
According to the accepted reports, migrants will only need three years of legal residence instead of five to obtain work and long-term residence permits. They should also be able to move on to other EU member states. Legal residency in different member states and seasonal work and vocational training should all count towards the stated three years of residence.
Migrants do not need to show knowledge of the language or culture of their country of residence. Language skills should only be sufficient for booking a hotel room or ordering in a restaurant — and even then, the member states must offer language courses.
Asylum procedures are to be accelerated: the decision on an application for long-term residence should not take longer than 60 days. Moreover, once their relatives have received work permits, migrants’ family members may automatically join them, regardless of their status.
Dr. Nicolaus Fest, member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs for the AfD delegation in the EU Parliament, comments as follows:
“If you think this is a copy of the 2018 Marrakesh Pact on Global Migration, then you are right: it is exactly the same. The EU Parliament has now voted to import millions of migrants, a decision firmly opposed by the vast majority of citizens in member states. This is both a disregard for democracy and a monstrous betrayal of ordinary people.”
He has also expressed concern over the lack of requirements for language and cultural knowledge, as well as the accelerated asylum procedures and automatic family reunification for migrants with work permits.
