Europe live: ‘history made’ as EU parliament passes key migration and asylum pact

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'Dark day for human rights,' Left group says following pact approval

“Today is a dark day for human rights, but the fight for a humane migration policy does not end here,” the Left group in the European parliament said after MEPs approved the migration and asylum pact.

“Movements, NGOs, collectives and this group will not stop demanding justice and solidarity,” the group said.

The Hungarian government has reiterated its opposition to the migration pact.

'Historic': German chancellor welcomes migration pact

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has called the migration and asylum pact a historic step.

'Only get worse': Greens criticise migration pact after vote

The Greens in the European parliament, who have opposed the package, said after today’s votes that “with the migration pact, the lack of solidarity towards asylum seekers & between member states will only get worse.”

“Real solidarity is about sharing the responsibility fairly both within the EU and international partners & standing up to our values & fighting for human rights,” the Greens said.

The French National Rally’s Jordan Bardella, a critic of the migration pact, has called it “terrible” and called for a “defeat” for the project in the upcoming European parliament election.

The message was also echoed by Marine Le Pen.

A group of 22 NGOs has issued a statement arguing that “while the adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum today is likely to lead to a detrimental degradation of people’s access to protection in Europe, the new Union Resettlement Framework (URF) adopted alongside the Pact offers a glimmer of hope.”

“The URF signals the EU’s political support for global resettlement efforts and has the potential to be a step towards advancing solidarity, capacity-building and responsibility sharing. It must now be operationalised effectively to ensure that more people reach safety and find long-term solutions,” the groups, which include the International Rescue Committee and Oxfam, said.

Renew president says those opposed to pact 'surf on people’s misery'

Valérie Hayer, the president of the centrist Renew Europe, said “throughout this mandate, Renew Europe has advocated for enhancing the EU’s asylum system, today it’s a reality.”

She added:

This marks an end to the unbearable failure by EU countries to find common ground on how to deal best with migration.

The candidates standing in the EU elections who voted against this agreement are those who don’t want changes, but surf on people’s misery.

Despite the attempts of the far-right to block European solutions, the EU is demonstrating that united, we can establish this needed reform.

Centre-right celebrates migration pact approval

“We have successfully put an end to the political deadlock that has characterised migration for many years,” the centre-right European People’s party MEP Tomas Tobé said in a statement after the voting ended.

“Delivering on the new Migration Pact will allow us to regain control over our external borders and reduce the migration pressure on the EU,” he said.

The EPP has also said it “led the efforts towards a common European solution on EU Migration” and that “today, we delivered.”

'Not perfect': migration pact wins backing despite qualms

Some MEPs said they voted in favour of the migration deal, despite criticism and doubts.

'History made,' European parliament president says

Roberta Metsola, the European parliament president, said “we kept out word,” calling the pact a “balance between solidarity and responsibility.”

EU migration pact adopted

The migration and asylum pact has been adopted.