Deep Dive: The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

After years of debate and in response to more than a decade of recurring refugee crises at Europe’s borders, the European Union Pact on Migration and Asylum will go into effect on June 12. The Pact consists of several legislative measures intended to manage migration and update the EU’s common asylum system.

The Pact is intended to surmount the political impasse on EU migration policy by limiting the entry of migrants, accelerating asylum procedures, facilitating returns, and sharing responsibilities more evenly across member states. The Pact reflects a stronger political focus on discouraging the arrival of displaced people.

However, the idea that many arrivals are not in need of protection is refuted by official statistics showing that the majority of asylum seekers are fleeing persecution and violence. Globally, more than 117 million people are displaced, with most remaining within their own countries or in lower-income regions, rather than traveling to Europe. Because safe routes to seek asylum are limited, many people have no realistic alternative but to reach EU borders directly to request protection, which is legal under international law.

A rights-based implementation of the Pact could potentially generate more predictable asylum procedures, clearer common standards across member states, and a more equal distribution of asylum seekers. However, the Pact may also lead to the expanded use of detention and more frequent use of emergency measures that undermine human rights.

What Changes Does the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum Introduce?

Under the new rules, people arriving at the EU’s borders will be screened and detained at the border to determine if they pose a security risk or are especially vulnerable. Some asylum seekers will have their claims handled more quickly through fast-track procedures. States are now empowered to deviate from EU legal standards in so-called crisis situations.

Additionally, a new “solidarity mechanism” aims to help EU countries share responsibility for asylum seekers more evenly. The Pact also updates standards on living conditions for asylum seekers, increases the ways in which their data can be used, and establishes common standards for refugee resettlement procedures.

What are the Likely Consequences of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum?

1. Fewer safeguards in fast-track asylum decisions

Under the Pact, many more asylum seekers will be subjected to fast-tracked asylum and return (deportation) procedures. These quicker processes will often take place at the border and may offer fewer safeguards. People may have limited time to prepare for interviews, reduced access to legal support, and less thorough checks of whether they need protection. It will also be more difficult to appeal decisions.

Those who travelled through “safe countries” before reaching Europe — such as Tunisia, Egypt, or Turkey — can have their claim discarded without any assessment of the individual persecution they face. They risk being returned to those countries, where they may face human rights abuses or be deported to their own countries where they could be exposed to serious harm.

2. A surge in detention across Europe

The new laws require large-scale screening and processing of asylum seekers in facilities at borders. Many asylum seekers will then be detained in closed facilities at borders for up to 12 weeks while their claims are assessed. During this time, asylum seekers would be deemed legally not on EU soil — despite being physically present — increasing the risk that they will be denied access to rights and services.

People can then be detained for a further 12 weeks if their claim is rejected. In reality, asylum seekers are likely to be detained much longer as countries of origin often do not collaborate on the forced return of their nationals.

3. Continued pressure on border countries

Currently, the EU state upon which an asylum seeker first sets foot, is, in most cases, responsible for hosting and assessing their claim. This has placed a disproportionate burden on states at the borders, incentivizing them to conduct illegal pushbacks and ignore boats in distress. In Greece, HIAS has seen firsthand how continued pressure on border countries has been used to justify denial of access to asylum and the detention of displaced people in inhumane conditions.

Yet new screening and detention at borders could further increase the pressure on border states. A “solidarity mechanism” is introduced to offset this imbalance. States that are not facing migratory pressure can choose to either provide funding — to states at the border or to countries outside the EU — or they can relocate and host asylum applicants.

As relocations are politically unpopular, the new mechanism is unlikely to lead to a fairer distribution of asylum seekers across the EU. Further, while the “solidarity funds” can be used to improve living conditions, they may also be used to build prison-like reception centers at borders or to fund migration control outside the EU.

4. Emergency measures that reduce protections

When arrival numbers are high, states will be able to delay the registration of asylum seekers, channel them through fast-tracked procedures with fewer safeguards, and detain them for longer periods. Emergency measures can also be triggered when states claim that “instrumentalization” is taking place. Instrumentalization broadly describes situations in which people seeking protection could be manipulated by “hostile actors”. This vague definition leaves the concept open to political interpretation that could undermine the right to seek asylum.

What are the Positive Elements of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum?

While many elements of the Pact risk weakening protections for asylum seekers, it also contains some provisions that could improve refugee protection if implemented in a rights-based way. The Pact introduces new monitoring mechanisms intended to ensure that people’s rights are respected during border procedures. It remains to be seen if member states will make the mechanisms genuinely independent, transparent, and adequately resourced.

If member states prioritize relocations when making “solidarity contributions,” responsibility for asylum seekers could be shared more evenly across the EU. In practice, many governments may prefer financial or operational contributions over receiving people seeking safety. Lastly, a new resettlement framework could create more safe routes to Europe, if member states increase their resettlement pledges. However, member states are already backtracking on their refugee commitments.

How Can We Advocate for a Fairer Asylum System in the EU?

Worldwide, more than 117 million people are forcibly displaced, while the EU hosts about 20 million displaced and stateless people. Most displaced people, however, remain within their own countries or neighboring regions rather than traveling to Europe. Without safe routes to seek asylum, or concerted action to address the crises driving displacement, people will continue to arrive at EU borders in search of safety. Europe can manage these arrivals effectively and humanely by ensuring national asylum systems are properly resourced, prepared for emergencies, and bolstered by meaningful European solidarity.

HIAS Europe calls upon EU member states to:

• Uphold the right to access asylum and the right not to be returned to harm.
• Ensure fair and individual assessment of asylum claims, including border procedures, with access to legal assistance.
• Use detention only as a measure of last resort and ensure humane reception conditions for all asylum seekers.
• Avoid overusing emergency and crisis measures that weaken rights.
• Increase the use of temporary protection to respond to groups of people in need of emergency protection.
• Invest in reception capacity, trained personnel, legal aid, and contingency planning.
• Put in place genuinely independent and transparent monitoring of border procedures, and ensure accountability for pushbacks, abuse, and unlawful detention.
• Prioritize relocation, asylum and reception capacity, and safe pathways over detention and deportation.

The EU‘s reception of millions of Ukrainians since 2022 demonstrates that a rights-based approach to migration can work in practice and benefit states and people alike. As the Pact enters into force, European countries remain bound by human rights standards laid out in international and European law. They must now show leadership in implementing the new rules in a way that ensures the safety, dignity, and rights of asylum seekers.

Originally published on February 13, 2024. Updated on June 4, 2026.