EU Ministers Reach Historic Agreement on Asylum and Migration Reforms

European Union countries have agreed to reform the bloc's migration and asylum policy, which should see migrants more fairly distributed across the EU's 27 member states and shake up asylum application practices to allow authorities to deport people more swiftly. Under the new compromise, EU countries can opt out of relocating migrants if they pay a fee of €20,000 ($21,553) per person into a fund managed by Brussels. The deal, which needed backing from a qualified majority of the bloc's members, paves the way for final negotiations with lawmakers at the European Parliament.