00:00The European Union's new immigration and asylums reforms have come into effect on Friday after months of political wrangling.
00:08The new rules are designed to boost member states' autonomy in response efforts to cases of irregular migration
00:14after several EU countries protested the old policy, calling it ineffective.
00:20The reforms are set to beef up security screenings at the border points in a major way.
00:25Member states can now undergo identity and security check processes lasting up to seven days
00:31and store biometric information in a database.
00:35The screening aims to determine who should receive an accelerated or a normal asylum application process
00:40and who should be returned to their home country or transit point.
00:44The new measures will also roll in a new fast-track rejection model
00:48where decisions can be carried out expeditiously in a matter of days.
00:53A solidarity mechanism is now also in place to ease the burden off nations who receive the bulk of migrants
01:00like Greece, Italy, and Malta.
01:03Other countries are now expected to take on at least 30,000 asylum seekers a year under this new relocation
01:09system
01:10or opt out by paying 20,000 euros per migrant for another country to process.
01:16Critics say the new system will de facto result in increased detention times for migrants
01:21and are designed to prioritize speed over international obligations,
01:25forcing humanitarian concerns to take a backseat.
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