EU struggles to update asylum laws three years on from a sweeping reform. And the clock is ticking

By LORNE COOK
Associated Press

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union governments are struggling to overcome obstacles to put a new asylum system in place three years after unveiling a plan to reform the bloc’s outdated asylum rules. Some fear the plan may never see the light of day. The New Pact on Migration and Asylum was touted as Europe’s answer to its migration woes. But the bloc is divided over how to manage migration and little progress has been made. The European Parliament must also endorse the pact and it’s blocking progress until the governments take important decisions. Spain’s interior minister warned Thursday that “negotiations on outstanding, sensitive issues are now on hold and this is of great concern to us.”