The EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum, which establishes a unified system for managing migration within the EU, must now be transposed into national law. On Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Léon Gloden submitted the relevant draft bill to the Chamber of Deputies and presented it at a press conference.
The Luxembourg government aims to make asylum and migration policy more effective, humane, and responsible, according to the minister’s statements to the press. A key change included in the Pact is the introduction of a new screening procedure designed to shorten processing times. This will apply to people arriving in Luxembourg without valid documents, for example on flights from non-Schengen countries.
According to the Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) minister, the screening process, lasting between three and seven days, will allow authorities to verify a person’s identity, check whether their fingerprints are already registered in the Eurodac database, assess whether medical treatment is required and, in exceptional cases, determine whether the person may pose a security risk.
Around 350 people per month are expected to undergo the screening procedure. After screening, the appropriate asylum procedure will be determined, with final decisions expected within three to six months.
Procedures will also be streamlined at judicial level. According to Minister Gloden, a new Immigration and Asylum Court will be created within the administrative court system, and appeal deadlines will be shortened. Appeals will only be possible within the framework of the standard asylum procedure.
The treatment of migrants has been the subject of increased international debate, particularly following the recent death of a woman in Minnesota during an intervention by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Minister Gloden states that Luxembourg and the EU will continue to uphold respect for human rights:
“In Luxembourg and in Europe, there will certainly be no ICE-style units”, he said, continuing: “Throughout the negotiations, it was essential for us to emphasise humanitarian considerations and respect for human rights. That is also why we have a committee that monitors these rights, particularly for unaccompanied minors.”
The new legislation will also clarify which member states are responsible for processing asylum applications. Under a mandatory solidarity mechanism, applications and the necessary resources will be distributed more fairly among EU countries.
