World

EU migration reform faces tight vote as party divisions deepen

Published

2 years ago

April 9, 2024

EU migration reform faces tight vote as party divisions deepen

The European Union’s make-or-break attempt to reform its migration and asylum policy faces a tight vote in the Parlament, as party divisions deepen.

The vote is scheduled to take place on Wednesday afternoon in a plenary session that will see MEPs go through a list of complex, interlinked pieces of legislation.

All eyes will be on the five laws that make up the so-called New Pact on Migration and Asylum, the comprehensive overhaul that seeks to turn the page on almost 10 years of go-it-alone reactions and instead establish common and predictable rules to manage the reception and relocation of asylum seekers.

First presented in September 2020, the New Pact has gone through many ups and downs, including periods of impasse that made it seem the legislation would never reach the finish line. Things changed last year as the issue returned to the top of the agenda, leading to a provisional agreement in December between the Parliament and the Council, despite their notable differences.

This breakthrough compromise still needs the final green light from each institution before its enactment into law. Time, however, is running short: the upcoming elections to the Parliament mean April is the last chance for MEPs to endorse the New Pact.

Given the high stakes at play, Wednesday’s vote was initially expected to go smoothly, with legislators from across the political spectrum coming together to support the reform, which is one of the biggest – if not the biggest – political files of this mandate.

But in a briefing with journalists on Tuesday, the rapporteurs in charge of the five laws toned down their optimism and acknowledged the gaps between and within parties.

“No one can know what will be the outcome of the vote,” said Tomas Tobé, from the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP).

“My work is constantly now, hour by hour, convincing colleagues that the absolute best way to help support a European migration policy is to be loyal to the whole migration pact,” he went on. “I understand that it is very easy to find your own populist view, perhaps, on parts of the pact that you might not like.”

Speaking by his side, Birgit Sippel, from the Socialists & Democrats (S&D), said the arguments in favour and against the reform were “totally different” and might be influenced by electioneering rather than policy considerations.

“Some think, like we heard, it’s not good enough, and others think it’s not bad enough in how we deal with migrants,” Sippel told journalists. “Maybe some are thinking about elections and what message they are sending to their national electorate.”

The opposition to the New Pact comes from some familiar corners, such as the lawmakers from Hungary’s Fidesz, who are non-attached, and the far-right Identity and Democracy (ID) group, which encompasses Italy’s Lega, France’s National Rally and Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

But resistance is also emerging from the inside of mainstream forces. The 16 Italian members of the S&D are determined to vote down the New Pact, according to Brando Benifei, who leads the delegation.

“There are those who legitimately think that this compromise is better than no compromise, but for us, as Italians in the PD (Partito Democratico), it is really too little,” Benifei told Euronews.

Benifei attacked the provisional deal struck with the Council, saying it would transform Italy into an “open-air” reception centre and push migrants to “third countries.”

“For us, human rights and European solidarity are fundamental. We do not endorse an agreement that leaves Italy too alone and is not sufficiently solid on the rights of the most fragile people,” he added.

Another Italian delegation, the populist Five Star Movement (M5S), which is non-attached, is equally opposed to the New Pact, calling it “useless for Italy” and “damaging for the rights of migrants who are sacrificed on the alter of demagogy.”

Both PD and M5S are in opposition to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose party, Fratelli d’Italia (FdI), was originally thought to be firmly in favour of the reform, which features a system of “mandatory solidarity” to help out frontline nations. However, a spokesperson said Fratelli d’Italia “has not decided yet and will consider each file in itself.”

In the Parliament, FdI sits with the hard-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), currently dominated by the Polish delegation of Law and Justice (PiS), which is staunchly against the reform.

Further resistance comes from the opposite side of the room: the Left (37 MEPs) and the Greens (72 MEPs). Both argue the stringent provisions pushed by member states will degrade the quality of the asylum process and fuel violations of fundamental rights.

“The Pact will entrench existing problems by disproportionately focusing on deterrence, including through the widespread detention of people and children, while reducing their rights. It will shift ever more responsibility to third countries and greater financial resources to autocratic governments and warlords,” Philippe Lamberts, co-chair of the Greens, said in a statement to Euronews.

“It’s clear that the current political class is desperate to claim that they have solved the issue of migration, regardless of the realities on the ground.”

Meanwhile, the EPP, the largest formation in the hemicycle, will hold a meeting on Wednesday morning to fortify its position and discuss the latest developments.

All in all, the New Pact needs a simple majority in the 705-member hemicycle to go through, a threshold that depends on how many MEPs show up to vote.

Although the five laws will be voted on separately, they are treated as one indivisible package, meaning the collapse of one could easily trigger a domino effect.

It’s extremely unlikely the Council will move forward with an incomplete set of rules: throughout the arduous negotiations, co-legislators committed to maintaining the “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed” motto until the very end.

“If one of the pillars of this system falls, then the whole system would be not on its two feet, on its right balance. It should be a balanced approach. And that (requires) adopting all of the regulations,” Juan Fernando López Aguilar, another rapporteur, said on Tuesday.

“Should any one of the regulations fail, that would be very detrimental.”

Nevertheless, the Parliament still has one more plenary session scheduled in late April, where the New Pact could be put to a new vote.

Click to comment

World

Senior Russian officer shot in Moscow in apparent assassination attempt

Published

24 minutes ago

February 6, 2026

Press Room

Senior Russian officer shot in Moscow in apparent assassination attempt

An unidentified individual has shot Lieutenant General Alekseyev in the Russian capital before fleeing the scene, authorities say.

Published On 6 Feb 2026

A senior Russian military official has been hospitalised after being shot several times in Moscow, according to state media quoting Russian officials.

An unknown assailant carried out a gun attack on Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, deputy chief of Russian military intelligence, in a residential building, Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for the Russian Investigative Committee (ICR), said on Friday.

Series of assassinations

Several senior Russian officers have been assassinated since the start of the war in Ukraine four years ago, with Moscow blaming the attacks on Kyiv.

In some cases, Ukrainian military intelligence has claimed responsibility.

The most recent officer to be killed was the head of the General Staff’s army training directorate, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, who was killed by a bomb under his car on December 22.

Last month a Russian court sentenced an Uzbek man to life in prison for the 2024 killing of the head of the Russian army’s radiological, chemical and biological defence forces.

The general, Igor Kirillov, was killed when a booby-trapped scooter exploded as he left an apartment block in Moscow, in an attack Kyiv said it had orchestrated.

World

Video: Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation

Published

10 hours ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

Video: Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation

new video loaded: Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation

transcript

Toronto Police Officers Charged in Drug and Corruption Investigation

Eight Toronto police officers were charged in an investigation, which began after a prison manager was targeted by three hit men. The investigation unraveled a crime network and and revealed a connection to the police officers who have been accused of participating in organized criminal activity and drug trafficking.

: “The allegations of criminal corruption include bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of personal property, breach of trust, and the unauthorized access and distribution of confidential information. Our belief is that member was doing his job effectively, was ethical and had complete integrity in his position, and that those actions, his commitment to integrity in his position, was what spawned the criminal actions against him. We are alleging that some police officers who were collecting personal and private information unlawfully and distributing it to members of organized crime, which ultimately resulted in serious harm in our communities.” “This is a painful and unsettling moment. Organized crime is corrosive. That it infected our service is unacceptable.” “The investigators involved held a mirror to the face of the criminal justice system, and to our policing institution to uncover the truth.”
Advertisement

Eight Toronto police officers were charged in an investigation, which began after a prison manager was targeted by three hit men. The investigation unraveled a crime network and and revealed a connection to the police officers who have been accused of participating in organized criminal activity and drug trafficking.

By Meg Felling

February 5, 2026

World

Britain drags feet on IRGC terror designation as Iran-linked center allegedly sells extremist merchandise

Published

11 hours ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

Britain drags feet on IRGC terror designation as Iran-linked center allegedly sells extremist merchandise

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government is facing intense criticism over its failure to swiftly outlaw Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The development comes as a London-based Islamic center has been accused of selling merchandise supporting terrorism.

Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian expert on Iran who has written extensively on Iran’s influence operations in the United Kingdom, told Fox News Digital the “Islamic Centre of England is a regime outpost.

“The head of the center is directly appointed by Iran’s supreme leader. The letter of the appointment is publicly read during the inauguration ceremony. There is not a shred of doubt that the center is used to peddle the influence of Iran’s political Islam. It is also used to recruit disgruntled British individuals who are sent to Iran for training.”

The Daily Telegraph reported in late January that U.K. authorities were investigating the Islamic Centre of England for allegedly selling Hezbollah phone cases and pro-Iranian regime key rings. Britain has sanctioned the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist movement, Hezbollah.

TRUMP’S IRAN THREATS FACE ‘OBAMA RED LINE’ TEST AS WHITE HOUSE PIVOTS TO DIPLOMACY

A Google Maps photo showing the Islamic Centre of England in London. (Google Maps)

The pro-Hezbollah and pro–Islamic Republic goods were reportedly sold at a bazaar Dec. 14, 2025, according to the paper. One key ring displayed the words, “With the kindness of God, Seyyed Ali [Khamenei] is our leader.” The Islamic Republic of Iran’s supreme leader, Khamenei, would order the murder of thousands of Iranian demonstrators just weeks later.

The bazaar also allegedly had stickers of late IRGC global terrorist Qassem Soleimani, who was responsible for the murders of over 600 military personnel, according to the Trump administration. President Trump ordered a drone strike in January 2020 that killed Soleimani in Iraq.

Emma Schubart, a research fellow at Britain’s Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital, “The Islamic Centre of England is not an isolated religious institution; it is part of a wider ecosystem of Iranian state-linked influence operating openly in the U.K., and at the center of that ecosystem sits the IRGC.

“The U.K. Government is dragging its feet over designating the IRGC. By delaying action, ministers are allowing hostile Iranian networks to continue operating under the cover of civil society and religious life. This is a dangerous blind spot in Britain’s national security.”

The Islamic Centre of England is a registered charity. When asked about reports of the Islamic Center’s role in selling pro-terrorist merchandise, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Charity Commission told Fox News Digital, “As part of our ongoing statutory inquiry into (the) Islamic Centre of England, we have raised concerns with the trustees about material sold by third parties at a recent event hosted at the charity’s premises. We take very seriously any alleged links between a charity and extremism or terrorism. Such links are abhorrent and corrosive to the trust on which the charitable sector depends.”

A British Union flag flies from a souvenir stall near the Houses of Parliament in London Oct. 27, 2025. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Azarmehr, however, countered, “The U.K. Charity Commission, the regulatory body, has been ‘investigating’ the center for five years with no decisions and no updates other than appointing an interim director, but the center carries on business as usual.

“The only tangible result is that every time you make a complaint to the charity about the center, they reply by saying that because they are investigating the center, they cannot comment.

IRAN REGIME OPENED FIRE WITH LIVE AMMUNITION ON PROTESTERS, DOCTOR SAYS: ‘SHOOT-TO-KILL’

“The first head of the center, Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, is now a member of Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts and a key figure in propagating Iran’s soft power abroad. Araki’s family have U.K. citizenship. The previous U.K. government, in which Alicia Kearns was part of its administration, even paid the center in excess of £100,000 in COVID-19 furlough.”

In this photo released Jan. 6, 2020, by the official website of the Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, fourth from left, leads a prayer over the coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and his comrades who were killed in Iraq in a U.S. drone strike at the Tehran University campus, in Tehran, Iran. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Kearns, who is the shadow minister for home affairs for the opposition Conservative party, is now demanding that the Islamic Center be shuttered.

“These latest revelations of terrorist tat being sold by the Islamic Centre of England are yet more evidence of why the center must be closed and those responsible for propagating terrorist propaganda face the law,” she told the Telegraph.

“The figures being idealized are responsible for the cold-blooded murder of tens of thousands of young Iranian protesters, adding to the many regional and international crimes of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM BOOTS IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER FROM DAVOS SUMMIT AMID DEADLY CRACKDOWN ON PROTESTERS

A spokesperson for the Islamic Centre of England told Fox News Digital, “The trustees take all concerns about the center very seriously. We are currently reviewing matters pertaining to the Dec. 14 event and, in light of this, are unable to comment further at this time.”

The EU announced last week that it has classified the IRGC a terrorist entity. The U.S., Canada and Australia have previously designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization. The IRGC played a key role in the massacre of Iranian demonstrators last month.

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 9, 2026. (MAHSA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

The proliferation of pro-Iran activism unfolded last weekend in London. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform Party in the United Kingdom, posted on X, “When people in Britain are chanting support for the thuggish regime in Iran, we are in serious trouble as a nation.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Video footage embedded in Farage’s post and other clips on social media shows a mix of pro-Palestinian and pro-Iran regime messaging at the protests.

Multiple Fox News Digital inquiries to the British prime minister’s office went unanswered.

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com