EU agrees on a new migration pact. Mainstream parties hope it will deprive the far right of votes

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations have officially endorsed a major overhaul of the bloc’s failed asylum system. Tuesday’s move wraps up years of work and comes just as campaigning for next month’s Europe-wide elections gathers pace. Migration could be an important issue. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum lays out rules for handling people trying to enter Europe without authorization, from how to screen them to deporting them if they’re not allowed to stay. Mainstream political parties believe it solves the problems that have divided EU nations since well over 1 million migrants arrived in 2015. But the reforms will only enter force in 2026. Critics say the system is aimed at keeping people out and will restrict asylum rights.