After a long day of negotiations, no final agreement was found on the EU Migration and Asylum Pact during the “jumbo” trilogue of 7 December 2023. Representatives of the EU institutions (Parliament, Council and Commission) working on the different texts included in the Pact met in Brussels to look for compromises and ensure coherence among the different texts.

These negotiations happened behind closed doors and there is no publicly available text to be able to assess the nature of the discussions, the points agreed upon nor those where a compromise has yet to be reached. The discussions will continue on the 18th of December.

Alberto Ares SJ, JRS Europe’s regional director: “We are very concerned to hear that negotiators have agreed on having mandatory border procedures. We know that in practice such procedures lead to the (de facto) detention of people, and we witness every day in our work how harmful this is”.

“Even more concerning is that the EU institutions are now apparently discussing at what age it is acceptable to detain children – something that we firmly believe should be completely banned”

“By pushing forward along this way to force an agreement at all costs, the EU is clearly losing its moral compass. Efforts should be instead directed to expand legal pathways to protection, invest in dignified reception systems and sharing the responsibility to protect people”

We urge EU-legislators to make a U-turn and, on the 18th of December – International Migrants Day – abandon this Pact.”