An EU proposal to suspend asylum rules to deal with the border crisis in Belarus has been met with scepticism by humanitarian groups.
Brussels said the burden at the EU’s eastern border called for faster deportations, longer processing deadlines and for only the basic needs of asylum seekers to be guaranteed.
It came in response to an unprecedented flow of migrants towards the EU via Belarus, egged on by the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko.
The resulting humanitarian crisis has led to at least 13 reported deaths, with many of the mainly Iraqi, Afghan and Syrian migrants left in limbo as winter draws in.
Although some of the responses to the EU’s formal consultation called for tougher measures to be taken, humanitarian experts said the right of asylum was being undermined.
The European Council on Refugees and Exiles, an umbrella group of 105 aid organisations, said providing only basic needs for a longer processing period “may not be in line with human dignity”.
In a 22-page response, it said the scope of the measures was poorly defined, meaning they could be applied beyond their initial remit.
“While the measures proposed are temporary and renewable there is a risk that they become permanent, in the manner of other temporary and exceptional measures,” it said.
The package “will have an adverse effect on the right to asylum without adequately responding to the situation at the EU’s borders with Belarus,” it said.
The European Commission said the six-month derogation from asylum rules would not compromise on human rights.
It would apply to three countries, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, all of which are experiencing an increase in arrivals on a previously little-known route into the EU.
Under the softened rules, the three countries could hold asylum seekers for up to four months – rather than four weeks – before granting them entry and deciding their fate.
The requirement to meet basic needs, including food, clothing and shelter, differs from the EU’s standard rules on conditions at reception facilities.
These are meant to guarantee that asylum seekers receive education and employment as well as their basic everyday needs.
The EU called on the three countries to co-operate with the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, to ensure that people’s needs are met.
In another derogation, the three governments would be allowed to deny asylum claims that were not filed at specific registration points.
The ECRE response said Latvia, Lithuania and Poland must ensure that there are sufficient registration points and that they can be reached by migrants.
“If the latter criterion cannot be met, genuine and effective access to asylum procedures is not ensured,” it said.
There is also an option to override EU deportation rules and more quickly send people back to their home countries.
The watchdog Human Rights Watch previously said asylum rights were being “thrown into a frozen ditch” on the Belarusian border.
It said the EU risked creating a “terrible precedent” for managing future border crises.
Belarus is suspected of orchestrating the crisis to retaliate against ever-tightening sanctions linked to its repression of domestic dissidents.
Although most of the global condemnation has been aimed at Belarus, Poland has also been criticised for its treatment of migrants.
While the crisis has calmed somewhat, with some migrants moved away from the tense border area, Poland continues to report attempted crossings.
The EU separately announced on Tuesday that it would seek to overhaul the rules in its passport control-free Schengen zone.
Countries would be allowed to unilaterally bring in border checks for up to three months at a time in emergency situations.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
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West Asia Premiership: Winners – Bahrain; Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership: Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
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UAE Conference: Winners – Dubai Tigers; Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
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Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
