EU Migration Pact Takes Effect: Overhauling Asylum and Migration System

The EU Migration Pact, a complex and contested piece of European legislation, came into effect yesterday, radically overhauling the EU's approach to migration and asylum. It aims to streamline processes, addressing an issue that has been highly polarizing in European politics for over a decade. The pact faces criticism from hard-right parties for not being strict enough on irregular migration and from human rights organizations for its punitive stance towards those fleeing conflict.

The need for this overhaul became evident during the 2015 Syrian civil war, which triggered the largest movement of people across Europe since World War II. Over two years, 2.3 million irregular movements occurred into the EU, overwhelming existing systems and exposing frail border controls. The crisis highlighted the inadequacy of the Dublin Regulation and strained solidarity among member states, exemplified by the failure to relocate 120,000 asylum seekers from frontline countries like Greece and Italy.

Initial EU responses included updating the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) to prevent «asylum shopping» and harmonize procedures, establishing the Eurodac database for fingerprinting. However, these updates proved insufficient for the 2015 crisis, as migrants easily moved across borders. A further reform in July 2016 proposed simplified asylum procedures, shortened appeal times, and stricter cooperation rules, but only four of seven legislative files were agreed upon by 2018, stalling the effort.

In September 2020, under President Ursula von der Leyen, the New Pact on Migration and Asylum was launched, now in effect. It features four pillars: faster external border procedures, robust asylum and return processes, a compulsory «solidarity mechanism» among member states for managing asylum seekers, and enhanced cooperation with third countries to address root causes and combat smuggling. The pact is designed to deter irregular migration, reduce pressure on frontline states, and prevent a repeat of the 2015 crisis, with stricter, more centralized obligations on member states.