European Union's New Migration and Asylum Reform

The European Union's Migration and Asylum Pact, evaluated as the most comprehensive reform of its migration and asylum system in recent years, entered into force on 12 June 2026. The measures adopted after nearly a decade of political negotiations aim to address structural challenges that emerged following the migration crisis of 2015–2016, during which over a million asylum seekers reached Europe. The reform package anticipates stricter control of the European Union’s external borders, faster asylum procedures, and a more balanced distribution of migration responsibilities among member states.

Under the new system, migrants entering the European Union irregularly will undergo a comprehensive screening process at the initial stage, including security, identity and health checks. This process may last up to seven days, during which fingerprints, facial biometrics and identity information of migrants will be recorded in the European Union’s new-generation database system.

Based on assessments, it will be determined whether individuals are subject to standard asylum procedures or should be directed toward return processes. One of the core objectives of the reform is to ensure more effective registration of identity information for persons entering European Union territory and to enable tracking of their movements within the Union.

One of the most prominent features of the Pact is the introduction of accelerated asylum procedures for specific categories of applicants. Individuals assessed as posing a security risk or those arriving from countries where the likelihood of their asylum applications being accepted is considered low will be subject to a special review process at dedicated facilities established at the European Union’s external borders.

Under this framework, applications are targeted to be concluded within a maximum of 12 weeks. While European Union authorities argue that this approach will reduce backlogs in the asylum system, human rights organizations warn that the process may extend detention periods and result in decisions being made without adequate examination of individual cases.

As part of the reform, the biometric registration system known as Eurodac has been comprehensively updated. Described by the European Commission as the “digital backbone” of the Pact, the system will centralize data on asylum seekers’ travel documents, biometric information and movement patterns. This aims to prevent individuals from submitting multiple asylum applications in different countries or crossing irregularly into other member states. The European Union asserts that this system will provide more effective oversight for both security and migration management purposes.

The second pillar of the Pact is the sharing of responsibilities among member states. Under the current system, the country where irregular migrants first enter is largely held responsible for processing their asylum applications, placing significant pressure on border states such as Italy, Greece, Malta, Spain and Cyprus. The new arrangement seeks to ensure that other member states also share this burden.

Accordingly, countries may choose to accept a specified number of asylum seekers, provide financial contributions, or offer operational support. In the initial implementation phase, approximately 30,000 asylum seekers are expected to be relocated. However, reluctance by some countries to accept migrants has sparked ongoing debates about the mechanism’s feasibility.

The new Pact also includes crisis tools that the European Union can deploy in response to sudden and intense migration flows. The regulations grant member states additional powers in situations resembling the 2015 migration crisis or when migration movements are alleged to be used as instruments of political pressure.

Under these provisions, longer detention periods may be applied in border areas and exceptional measures may be introduced in asylum procedures. The European Union has incorporated these mechanisms in light of assessments that countries such as Belarus and Russia have used migrant inflows as tools of political pressure.

Although the Migration and Asylum Pact is presented by European Union institutions as a historic step in migration management, it has faced intense criticism from human rights organizations. Criticisms focus on the concern that the new measures may restrict access to asylum, normalize de facto detention practices at borders, and negatively impact the rights of children and other vulnerable groups. Human rights advocates argue that the reform prioritizes border security and migration deterrence over humanitarian protection mechanisms.