Five years after the European Commission’s original proposal, the Pact on Migration and Asylum officially entered into force, on Friday 12 June.
Made up of 10 major legislative acts, this far-reaching reform of the Common European Asylum System introduces a mandatory and standardised screening procedure at the external borders, thus unifying 27 processes that had previously been separate. It establishes health and security screening, speeds up the processing of asylum applications for people considered less likely to obtain protection and puts in place a compulsory solidarity mechanism between States, in the form of relocations or financial contributions, to support ‘front-line’ countries.
Meeting of European ministers in Cyprus. To mark the completion of the Pact, the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council specially organised an informal meeting of ministers in Nicosia, on Friday.
While welcoming a “historic achievement”, Nicholas Ioannides, Cyprus’ Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection, nevertheless recalled that the success of the legislative package would depend on “our coordination, our political commitment, and our willingness to continue working together”.
Asked when the Pact’s concrete effects could be measured, the Deputy Minister acknowledged that “it won’t be in a matter of months, because Member States have already been working hard to change their legislation, to upgrade their infrastructure”. “It will take some time, a year”, he said, while nevertheless assuring that “the efficiency of the measures will be assessed on a daily basis”.
In addition, Magnus Brunner, the Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, reiterated his wish to strengthen “migration diplomacy”, notably through visa policy. Stressing the importance of partnerships with third countries, the Commissioner announced that an “ambitious initiative” had just been launched to reduce illegal arrivals via the “eastern corridor” – a route running from Bangladesh and Pakistan through the Gulf countries to Egypt and Libya.
Also represented at the meeting, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) welcomed an opportunity to move beyond emergency responses dictated by the migration crisis. At the same time, “procedures must be carried out with adequate safeguards to ensure that no one is returned or transferred to a situation where they may face persecution, conflict or other forms of serious harm” they recalled in a joint statement, stressing that “implementation will be the decisive test”.
European agencies optimistic. On the same day, the Frontex agency announced that irregular crossings at the EU’s external borders had already fallen by 40% over the first five months of 2026. This trend is particularly visible on the West African route, which has recorded a spectacular 71% drop in detections. Celebrating the harmonisation of border control standards, Hans Leijtens, the agency’s Executive Director, said his officers would continue to be deployed on the ground “to contribute to its implementation”.
In a statement, the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) also said it would support the Member States in implementing the solidarity pool “through its first-ever multi-country operational plan, expected to be concluded soon”. This programme is also based on the development of “more than 60 practical guides” and on piloting the new screening system in Italy, Romania and Portugal – where the Pact’s technical implementation has proved particularly laborious.
Civil society on alert. European optimism has nevertheless not been enough to allay the fears of human rights organisations. “This Pact is being rolled out across the EU with limited transparency and almost zero involvement of civil society”, complained Silvia Carta, Advocacy Officer for the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), in a statement. “The very concept of ‘fast and efficient procedures’ is built on very precarious grounds and those who will pay the price are the people who will be detained and left in limbo”, she added.
For its part, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (an alliance of NGOs) pointed to choices “disconnected” from realities on the ground, regretting that “contributions from actors such as NGOs, legal professionals and local authorities (...) have largely been ignored”.
Lastly, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) expressed concern about the risks of humanitarian shortcomings at the EU’s borders. Marta Welander, its Advocacy Director, thus warned that “without vital protection safeguards and robust independent border monitoring in place at external borders, the Pact risks resulting in further large-scale human rights violations”. (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)