MEPs rowed over allegations of “Nazi” rhetoric in the halls of the European Parliament before narrowly voting in favour of the Migration and Asylum Pact on April 10.
Passed by just 32 votes, it was evident that neither the Left nor the Right appeared satisfied with the final version of the pact, with some left-wing representatives even attending a demonstration against the bill outside Parliament.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/R0sstp9lKlc
Among them was French Green MEP Damien Carême, who told Brussels Signal he would not vote in favour of the bill.
“This ‘Pact’ is backsliding on human rights. It will allow us to lock children away,” he said, before emphasising he was attending the demo in solidarity with demonstrators and NGOs.
Carême claimed that European citizens are more concerned about economic and energy crises than migration, criticising Brussels for a lack of action on these issues.
“The European citizens do not care about migration, they care about the energy crisis and the economy There is no answer from Europe regarding these issues.”
👉🏼 The EU Migration Pact has finally been adopted by the European Parliament.#MigrationPact #EU pic.twitter.com/JEGZR9w91C
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 10, 2024
On the Right, MEPs claimed that the legislation would enable further mass migration into Europe.
“We are being submerged in thousands of illegal immigrants,” the Identity and Democracy (ID) group’s Tom Vandendriessche said while addressing the chamber.
“The EU migration pact is going to oblige us to take even more migrants,” he added. “They are deliberately replacing the European population.”
“This EU migration pact is complete madness.”
His words quickly sparked a row in parliament, with Renew’s Sophia In ‘t Veld accusing the Flemish politician of making a speech “full of lies and nonsense”.
“When you are talking about replacement, are you talking about the replacement theory that was used by the Nazis?” she asked, sparking a fiery exchange.
‼️ Protests erupted earlier in the European Parliament as lawmakers started to vote on the controversial Asylum and Migration Pact.#MigrationPact #EU pic.twitter.com/DtvquUQmit
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) April 10, 2024
Tensions appeared to only escalate from this point. As MEPs began to vote on the legislation within the chamber, proceedings were interrupted by protesters.
Chanting from a viewing section within the chamber, the protesters held up banners protesting the potential human rights dangers with the act, while also throwing paper planes at the gathered politicians.
“This Pact kills, vote no,” they called out as EP President Roberta Metsola called for “serenity”.
The Migration and Asylum Pact is a reform of the existing European regulations governing the handling of irregular migrants and asylum seekers.
A central component of this reform is the introduction of compulsory solidarity.
This means that EU member states will be required to assist other European nations facing a surge of migrants, either by accepting them within their own borders or by providing compensation for each migrant they decline to admit.
