Europe Tightens Its Immigration Rules --- The measures come as asylum claims are poised to exceed one million this year.

"European leaders are tightening asylum rules and seeking to restrict migration because of political pressure from opponents who charge that Europe's mainstream parties have lost control of the numbers of people entering the bloc.

European Union member states and lawmakers agreed on new asylum rules Wednesday after years of failing to rework a system that collapsed during the migration crisis of 2015. Back then, more than one million people came to the bloc, swelling support for far-right parties.

On Tuesday, the French parliament supported a bill that bolsters the government's power to deport foreigners and limits access to welfare and citizenship to dissuade asylum seekers from coming.

Britain recently passed preliminary legislation aimed at permitting the deportation of failed asylum seekers to Rwanda. 

Even in Germany -- a country long open to migrants -- officials are working on plans to send some asylum seekers to Africa while their cases are decided.

Europe's tightening laws on asylum and migration face criticism from nongovernmental organizations who say they would inflict more pain on people escaping wars and poverty. 

Potentially more troubling for officials, some experts say the measures won't achieve their central aim: A clear reduction in the number of asylum seekers reaching Europe.

While European governments have grappled for years with migration rules, the political imperative for action recently has increased. The number of asylum claims in Europe could top one million this year, the highest level since the 2015 crisis, authorities say.

Just as border control is set to be a pivotal issue in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, migration is likely to play a leading role in the EU-wide European Parliament vote in June.

In Dutch elections last month, far-right, anti-migrant politician Geert Wilders emerged as the clear winner, sending shock waves across the continent. It was his first victory after almost two decades of trying.

In Germany, the right-wing, anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party is ranking second in polls, with record-high support. France's National Rally anti-immigration party, led by Marine Le Pen, also is topping domestic surveys.

At the heart of the new EU legislation is an effort to accelerate the screening of asylum seekers to allow swifter deportations of failed claimants, with greater powers for authorities to keep people inside migration centers in front-line states, such as Italy, until they are either rejected or relocated elsewhere in the bloc.

That could reduce the large number of asylum seekers who flock to richer countries including the Netherlands and Germany. In return, northern countries would accept some relocated asylum seekers or would pay into a joint EU fund to manage migration. The new rules still require formal approval in the European Parliament and in the EU grouping of member states.

The EU also wants to sign migration agreements with countries such as Tunisia and Albania to boost its ability to return failed asylum seekers, though the pacts are proving cumbersome to seal.

"This Pact on Migration and Asylum will ensure that there is an effective European response to this European challenge," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who oversees the bloc's executive arm. "It means that Europeans will decide who comes to the EU and who can stay, not the smugglers."

The EU agreement comes after lawmakers in both of France's parliamentary chambers on Tuesday clinched a last-minute migration deal. The bill, which is deeply divisive within President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party, empowers the government to expel foreign residents who reject the values of the French Republic. It tightens access to children's and housing benefits for foreign residents living legally in France and raises the French-language requirement for residency permits. Children born in France to foreign parents will no longer be automatically granted citizenship. Dozens of lawmakers from Macron's party and its allies voted against the bill or abstained from voting. On Wednesday, French Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau resigned." [1]

We Lithuanians deal with migrants simply. We round up our unemployed alcoholics, give them clubs and explain that it is necessary to defend our women who do not want to give birth from the Africa's women who give birth, that this is the defense of our civilization. We also taught them to scream two words in English: "Go away." What they are doing there with those clubs at the borders of Lithuania is none of our business. We are the last pagans in Europe, everything is allowed to us. And rural voters like this use of force: "Hit if she's still moving."

1. World News: Europe Tightens Its Immigration Rules --- The measures come as asylum claims are poised to exceed one million this year. Norman, Laurence; Bisserbe, Noemie.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 21 Dec 2023: A.9.