EU Migration and Asylum Pact takes effect, but “no country is ready”

Brussels – “We managed to present a united front, and this allows us to regain control of migration to Europe.” Tomas Tobé, MEP for the European People’s Party, made these remarks during today’s (10 June) press conference on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which will come into force on Friday 12 June. The European Commission proposed the Pact in September 2020 to improve procedures and reach agreement on the fair sharing of responsibilities among Member States, as well as on solidarity in managing migration flows. In April 2024, the European Parliament adopted ten legislative texts, as agreed with the Member States. The Council then formally adopted the Pact on 14 May 2024.

“The Parliament and the Commission have fulfilled their responsibilities, but Member States have not yet done so fully. It is now important to ensure full implementation,” Tobé, who was also rapporteur for the regulation on asylum and migration management, added. A slightly different perspective came from Birgit Sippel (Socialists and Democrats, Germany), rapporteur for the regulation on screening. “When we talk about regaining control of migration, it must be made clear that the control of external borders has always been the responsibility of border countries, not only to verify whether those arriving are entitled to asylum, but also to combat crime, drug trafficking, arms trafficking and other issues,” she said. The Pact, therefore, “does not change this,” and “what was lacking in the past was trust between Member States and sincere cooperation on the question of who was responsible for the asylum procedure”, she explained. 

Sippel did not hide her disappointment, because “after two years in which Member States have had the opportunity to transpose and implement this legislation, we must conclude that almost none of them are 100 per cent ready. And it is even more disappointing because we weren’t starting from scratch: European asylum legislation already existed, so the effort required of Member States shouldn’t have been so great.” Now it will be necessary “to rely on Member States and ensure that what has been decided is actually implemented.”

The starting point for this new system is the screening process, which “takes place over the course of a few days” and serves to “identify, right from the very early stages, those who are genuinely seeking asylum, who have lost their documents, and who are simply seeking entry in search of a better future or work,” Sippel continued. This step, the MEP explained, “is essential to understand what specific vulnerabilities exist and decide what kind of support is needed and who should be relocated to other Member States.”

Sippel went on to stress that “from the outset, (it had been stressed) that there must be a monitoring mechanism to ensure respect for fundamental rights,” because “we know that, even with the best of intentions, things can go wrong.” Finally, the MEP expressed her appreciation for Magnus Brunner, Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration: “I am sometimes very critical of him, but I appreciate that in the last few hours he announced that, with the entry into force of the Common European Asylum System, internal border controls will finally have to cease.” 

Matjaž Nemec (Socialists and Democrats, Slovenia), rapporteur for the regulation on qualifications, also commented on this point. “For the first time, the European Commission has issued an opinion on internal border controls, calling on Member States to abolish them,” he said, explaining that this is “a historic moment: prolonged controls are no longer necessary or proportionate. It is time for our Member States to show the political courage to match our legislative achievements, by fully restoring Schengen once and for all.” 

The Pact introduces new provisions for Eurodac, the EU’s biometric database used for fingerprint matching. The rapporteur for this specific issue was Jorge Buxadé (Group of European Conservatives and Reformists, Spain), who explained that “the new Eurodac Regulation will allow Member States to work with a new database to store and compare fingerprints, facial biometric data, travel documents, and all the information necessary to identify those who are in the European Union illegally for the purposes of return.” One of the most significant changes is “the switch to individual files for each person”, the MEP explained. Under the current system, there is a file for each asylum application, not for each individual. On a technical level, the MEP noted that this is a field-testing phase for Member States, which will have to “demonstrate that they have the necessary technical infrastructure to connect to the database.”

Buxadé then used the stage to launch an attack on Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. In his view, the Spanish government “is undermining the Pact, which is already dead because of the southern border.” The MEP is referring to an extraordinary measure adopted by Madrid to regularise the status of around 500,000 irregular migrants, due to come into force from June 2026. The measure sets in motion the process for granting legal residence permits to people who have been in Spain for at least five months prior to 31 December 2025 and have no criminal record.

Juan Fernando López Aguilar (Socialists and Democrats, Spain), rapporteur for the regulation on crises and force majeure, responded directly to Buxadé’s criticisms of Spain’s regularisation policy. “It is not only compatible with the Pact,” he pointed out, “but indeed complements its objectives, with a positive outlook, unlike the negative view of migration and asylum seekers that is on the rise in the European Union.” Regularisation “aims at inclusion, integration, and granting status to those already present in the labour market, so that they can contribute to the funding of social services through their taxes and social security contributions,” he explained.

Turning to the overall assessment of the Pact, López Aguilar highlighted the historic significance of the outcome, given that the migration issue “for years has been the most complex on the European agenda. It is a divisive issue – geographically, ideologically, politically – but we have finally managed to put in place a response on a European scale.” The MEP then listed what he believes should be urgent priorities for Member States: “They must ensure the sufficient capacity required by the Pact to guarantee high-quality conditions in reception facilities and ensure the implementation of special provisions for vulnerable people.” In this regard, “the fundamental rights monitoring mechanism, which must be fully operational, is important to ensure that the implementation of the Pact remains aligned with European values and EU law.” 

According to Fabienne Keller (Renew, France), rapporteur for the regulation on asylum procedures, the Pact on Migration and Asylum “is making progress, albeit imperfectly and unevenly, but it is making progress.” Illegal border crossings “fell by 26 per cent in 2025,” she said, “and returns supported by Frontex account for almost half of all returns in the EU.” The Pact “is balanced,” she added. “It provides Member States with concrete tools, deadlines, responsibilities, IT systems, and contingency plans, while respecting fundamental rights. This balance was not accidental, but the result of negotiations.” The MEP, however, strongly criticised the Return Regulation, on which Parliament is about to vote, stating that “it was negotiated in haste, is ideologically driven, and built on the assumption that speed and pressure alone can solve the problem,” Keller explained. “Outsourcing the management of European migration goes against the sovereignty of the EU, and the regulation does not guarantee fundamental rights.” 

According to Alessandro Ciriani (Group of European Conservatives and Reformists, Italy), the heart of the Pact and the European strategy lies in being “rigorous and at the same time supportive.” The MEP stressed the issue of integration, citing the Italian example: “The Italian National Institute of Statistics has confirmed that a high percentage of migrant families live in absolute poverty,” he said. “We are importing poverty without creating the necessary tools to improve migrants’ living conditions, and I do not believe that is what European progressives want, nor do conservatives.”