By Elnaz Sharifi, UnHerd
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum enters into force today, two years after it was formally adopted. After a decade in which migration has increasingly dominated European politics, the reforms reflect a broader shift away from emergency responses and towards a more restrictive, enforcement-based approach, aimed at strengthening control over Europe’s external borders. The pact is an important step in the bloc’s plans to reduce immigration and points to a realism impacting Europe’s policy.
The details of the pact employ a variety of methods to limit migration. It seeks to standardise how member states handle migration by introducing mandatory screenings at external borders within seven days, covering identity, health, and security checks, with biometric data logged into a wider European database. Member states must participate in a solidarity mechanism, either by accepting relocated asylum seekers, providing operational assistance, or making a financial contribution of €20,000 for each asylum seeker it declines to relocate. Alongside it, the Return Regulation agreed earlier this month establishes return hubs outside EU territory for rejected applicants, imposes stricter entry bans, lengthens detention periods, and expands investigative powers.
It is uncertain whether the pact will function as intended. Despite today’s deadline, many member states, like Cyprus, Greece and Italy, are still struggling to complete the necessary preparations. Several have yet to update domestic legislation, connect to the Eurodac system, which tracks asylum seekers once they enter the bloc, or prepare the reception facilities, staff, and legal safeguards required for the new border procedures.