European Union lawmakers approved Wednesday a major revamp of the bloc’s migration laws, hoping to end years of division over how to manage the entry of thousands of people without authorization and deprive the far right of a vote-winning campaign issue ahead of June elections.

In a series of 10 votes, members of the European Parliament endorsed the regulations and policies that make up the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The reforms address the thorny issue of who should take responsibility for migrants when they arrive and whether other EU countries should be obliged to help.

The proceedings were briefly interrupted by a small but noisy group of demonstrators in the public gallery who wore shirts marked “this pact kills” and shouted “vote no!”

The 27 EU member countries must now endorse the reform package, possibly in a vote in late April, before it can take effect.

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, a former lead lawmaker on migration who helped pave the way for the reform package, posted “History made,” on X, formerly Twitter, after the votes.

“It has been more than 10 years in the making. But we kept our word. A balance between solidarity and responsibility. This is the European way,” she wrote.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser described the result as a “major and very important success.”