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European Union lawmakers on Thursday approved a series of proposals aimed at ending the yearslong standoff over how best to manage migration, a conundrum that has provoked one of the bloc鈥檚 biggest political crises.

The proposals 鈥� passed in a series of votes by a roughly two-thirds majority 鈥� include an emergency plan that would oblige the 27 EU nations to help one of their fellow nations should that country鈥檚 reception capacities be overwhelmed by the sudden arrival of people hoping to enter.

The measures make up the European Parliament鈥檚 position for negotiations with the EU member countries and set a clock ticking. The member countries now have a year to finally reform their creaking asylum system before Europe-wide elections are held in May 2024.

Should they fail to do so, the project might have to be abandoned or completely overhauled as it鈥檚 taken up by the next European Commission 鈥� the EU鈥檚 executive branch 鈥� and the new members of parliament.

鈥淚f we miss this chance to make it right, I don鈥檛 think we will have another,鈥� Spanish Socialist lawmaker Juan Fernando L贸pez Aguilar, who guided the plan through the assembly, said before the vote. 鈥淭he kind of a message would be: 鈥楬ey, listen, it鈥檚 not going to happen. Not this time. Ever.鈥欌��

Europe鈥檚 divisions over migration were exposed in 2015 when well over 1 million people, mostly Syrians fleeing war, sought refuge. Reception facilities in the Greek islands and Italy became overcrowded.

As migrants moved north in the tens of thousands, some countries 鈥� Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia among them 鈥� erected fences and barriers. Many people hoped to find sanctuary or better lives in places like Germany and Sweden.

Under existing rules, the country that people first land in must take responsibility for them. Greece, Italy, and tiny Malta say that is unfair. They鈥檝e demanded support and solidarity from their EU partners. But several countries refuse to accept the imposition of obligatory quotas of migrants.

The lawmakers now propose that any EU country hit by the sudden and mass arrival of people should activate a crisis mechanism. The commission would share out responsibility for the migrants using a pre-agreed 鈥渟olidarity pool鈥� based on annual support plans submitted by each member state.

Any migrant relocations would be based on these peoples鈥� 鈥渕eaningful links鈥� to a country they might be sent to, such as family ties, cultural similarities, or where they might have previously studied. Lawmakers hope this will discourage them from searching for a better place to stay.

The long-festering dispute has led to the collapse of the system. Unable to agree, the EU has tried to outsource its migrant challenge, making legally and morally questionable deals with countries like Turkey or Libya, which many people transit through on their way to Europe.

Earlier this month, a U.N.-commissioned investigator accused the EU of aiding and abetting human rights abuses and other crimes against migrants with its support to the authorities in strife-torn Libya.

Momentum is also gathering to use EU funds to build walls and fences, something the commission has always insisted isn鈥檛 in line with the bloc鈥檚 values. Common funds are already being used for watchtowers, surveillance cameras, and border security databases.

鈥淚n this European Union today, we have countries that lived behind an Iron Curtain, and I would be ashamed if the answer of migration means to build new walls,鈥� Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said on the eve of the vote in Strasbourg, France.

鈥淔or me, the European Union was to take away walls and not to buy new walls,鈥� he said.

The vote comes amid a sharp rise in migrant arrivals, although the entries are tiny compared to the number of refugees being handled in poorer countries like Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan.

On April 11, Italy鈥檚 right-wing government declared a six-month national state of emergency to help it cope with a surge in people arriving on the country鈥檚 southern shores. Italy used a state of emergency during the COVID-19 pandemic to mandate many measures by decree, temporarily bypassing the usually long parliamentary process.

Since the start of this year, about 31,000 migrants, either rescued by Italian military boats or charity ships or arriving without assistance, have disembarked, according to the interior ministry. That鈥檚 nearly four times the roughly 8,000 for the same period in each of the two previous years.

Thursday鈥檚 votes at the EU parliament only became necessary after the political group that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni鈥檚 party belongs to, supported by a bloc of independent lawmakers, forced the polls.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.