Europe toughens its migration policies

The Senate and the National Assembly in France approved a new immigration law Tuesday. After the government and its partners reached an agreement with the right, the bill achieved a more than sufficient majority in both chambers and will now undergo a thorough examination by the Constitutional Council at the request of the left.

The new Darmanin law, named after the interior minister, comes after years of incidents related to mass immigration arriving from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa. While Macron's government intended to reform its immigration management system from the presidential re-election in 2022, the violent events of the summer of 2023 and the attacks in Annecy and Arras represented a turning point for the president, put on the ropes by the right and a growing anti-immigration sentiment in the population.

Withdrawal of nationality and end of 'ius solis'

The new law plans to toughen the country's migration policies. It will be more difficult to regularize long stays in France, in addition to the fact that the conditions for accessing social aid as an immigrant will be toughened. France is a country in which social security provides many subsidies depending on the financial resources of the applicant. Foreigners are entitled to many of these benefits, something that, according to the Rassemblement National and Reconquête, seriously encourages the mass arrival of immigrants.

Among other measures, the new law will allow the French administration to strip a citizen of nationality if they have a criminal record and are convicted of homicide, crimes against authorities or other serious crimes. It also puts an end to the principle of "ius solis," by which French nationality is granted to any individual born within the country, even to foreign parents. With the new law, a procedure will be necessary to apply for nationality when the individual turns 16 years old. If this person is convicted of a crime, opting for nationality is impossible.

For benefits such as family subsidies, the enforceable right to housing or the personalized autonomy subsidy, the requirement of legal stay in the country is established for five years for foreigners who do not work, but 30 months for others.

The European Union reforms its legislation on migration and asylum

From Brussels, the governments of the 27 member countries and their rivals in the European Parliament reached an agreement to promote new legislation on migration and asylum. The issue seriously strains the relationship between the countries of the European Union. Many of them, such as Spain, France, Italy and Greece, have claimed for years to face a much greater burden in terms of migration. The EU is one of the preferred destinations for migrants from all over the world.

"Migration was the first concern for EU citizens in the 2019 elections. Reaching an agreement on this package before the end of the year is a great success," said the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, when announcing the new deal. If everything progresses, what has been agreed between the countries provides for a system of mandatory solidarity with the countries that suffer the greatest migratory burden. Member states will be able to choose between relocating asylum seekers to their territory or making financial contributions to countries that are facing an influx of migrants.

Along with this, the European Union foresees more effective responses to the weaponization of migratory flows by certain governments, as happened between Belarus and Poland, Spain and Morocco or Turkey and Greece. The identification process for migrants will be improved, as they must undergo a control by facial image and fingerprints, including children as young as 6 years old. Health and security controls will also be tightened for those who want to enter the European Union.