One of the pillars of the new pact is to speed up voluntary and forced returns of rejected asylum seekers by automatically issuing return orders when an application is rejected. A clear political priority of the centre and far-right politicians who swept to power in 2024 across the EU, returnees are slated to be sent to countries deemed safe like Syria and Bangladesh.
The European Agency for Asylum said there were about 802,000 pending first-time asylum applications in March.
Member states also are working with EU lawmakers to allow for the creation of “return hubs” in third countries where they can send migrants who can’t be repatriated. Questions about deportation centers are being quietly negotiated between a group of five nations and potential partners abroad.
Shared responsibility across the bloc
The pact also introduces a “solidarity mechanism” requiring EU states to either relocate asylum seekers from frontline countries such as Italy, Greece and Malta or pay €20,000 ($23,000) per person into a support fund.
At least 30,000 relocations per year are expected under the system, though earlier negotiations exposed deep divisions among member states over burden-sharing.
The reform also includes provisions for emergency situations similar to the 2015–2016 migration crisis, allowing temporary restrictions on asylum protections and extended detention in cases of sudden inflows or “instrumentalised” migration.
Pact will not bring immediate change
The commission has admitted work on implementing the pact will continue after June 12 since no country is fully ready.
“It won’t be a like a light switch turning on on June 12,” said Susan Fratzke, a senior policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute. “Some of these things will take time.”
The lack of clarity and consistency is problematic, said Susanna Zanfrini, director of the International Rescue Committee’s Italy office.
That ambiguity “creates uncertainty for both people seeking protection and the organisations supporting them at the very moment they most need clear information about their rights, options, and access to support to survive, recover and rebuild their lives,” she said.
Human rights groups slam the new rules
Human rights advocates have criticised the new rules, arguing they undermine the right to seek asylum by rushing assessments.
They say accelerated procedures introduce racial profiling while denying international protection to applicants with legitimate claims, while also warning of an expected spike in prolonged detentions at EU borders.
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