Cyprus and Spain can legitimately request access to the annual solidarity pool created by the Pact on Migration and Asylum, after having fulfilled their obligations regarding mechanisms to control irregular migrant arrivals and established adequate reception facilities, according to an assessment published by the Commission on Thursday 16 July.
But the situation is more complex for Greece, and especially for Italy, which has yet to take any steps to allow the resumption of so-called ‘Dublin’ transfers (the return of asylum seekers to the country where they first registered, editor’s note), according to the same assessment.
As part of the first annual migration management cycle, the Commission identified four Member States under migratory pressure: Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Italy. These Member States are entitled to use the annual solidarity pool established by EU Council Implementing Decision 2025/26423. The existence of systemic deficiencies in any of these four Member States, likely to have serious negative consequences for the functioning of the annual migration management fund, would trigger restrictions on the solidarity provided by the other Member States in the event of migratory pressure.
In its conclusions, the Commission notes considerable progress in implementing the rules of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. “Member States are on track to adapt their national legislation, to set up and organise the mandatory screening and the border procedures, to reach sufficient reception capacity, as well as to reduce backlogs and delays in asylum procedures. [They] have also advanced in reinforcing their capacity to process responsibility transfers and implement solidarity pledges”. At the same time, further efforts are needed to address the remaining challenges, particularly regarding the new responsibility rules laid down in the regulation on asylum and migration management (AMMR, formerly Dublin).
The current application of these rules by Cyprus and Spain, as well as the ongoing operational cooperation with these Member States, does not give rise to any particular concerns.
The measures taken to date by Greece indicate that it has started to correct practices deemed deficient under the previous regulations. But, “given that the new AMMR responsibility rules have been in application for less than one month and the time limits related to the new responsibility rules are yet to take effect, it is not yet possible to conclude whether the past practices have been fully remedied”.
Italy’s weaknesses regarding transfers. The measures taken so far by Italy demonstrate significant efforts, but “at this stage [...], no concrete indications could be observed that the practices under the Dublin III Regulation, and notably with regard to the suspension of the reception of transfers, except for cases of family reunification of unaccompanied minors, no longer persist”.
Furthermore, there is no indication, at present, that the Italian authorities have actively engaged with other Member States on the practical and logistical arrangements for resuming transfers.
Link to the assessment: https://aeur.eu/f/mws (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)