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The European Union is considering revising the 1951 post-war Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits countries from refusing asylum seekers at their borders. This could be one of the biggest changes in EU migration policy in decades, The Times reports, citing a diplomatic document.
The Convention, signed by 144 countries, enshrines the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the expulsion of asylum seekers to countries where they are in danger. However, this principle is increasingly being questioned due to the significant increase in migration flows to Europe.
The document, prepared by Poland and discussed by EU interior ministers, envisages accelerating the deportation of rejected asylum seekers and migrants involved in crimes. European governments hope that these measures could lead to international discussion and possible changes to the convention, which would be supported by the UK and the US.
The number of asylum applications in the EU remains high – over one million in 2023. This is causing anxiety among the population and contributing to the growth of support for nationalist and populist parties.
The problem of irregular migration has been exacerbated by the Syrian crisis of 2015, when more than a million migrants crossed European borders, often passing through safe countries to settle in Germany and other Western European countries.
