EU overhaul to toughen migration rules takes effect, though doubts remain about impact

BRUSSELS, June 12 - An overhaul of immigration and asylum policy enters into force across the European Union on Friday, a decade in the making, as EU countries have come under pressure from far-right nationalist parties.

The EU-wide agreement introduces stricter border controls, faster case processing, expanded digital tools to track asylum applications and increased deportations. It was adopted in 2024 with a two-year implementation period.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the pact as "fair and firm", and said it would deliver "more secure external borders, solidarity between member States and more efficient procedures for asylum and return".

It is the EU's primary collective response to demands for change that have grown in the decade since 2015, when more than a million people arrived in Europe to seek asylum, mostly Syrians fleeing civil war and trekking across the continent on foot.

But levels of readiness for the changes vary across the 27 EU member states, which has cast some doubt over how quickly the overhaul will take effect and how effective it will be.

“We have to realize that nearly no member state is ready to 100 percent. And that's even more disappointing because it's not that we started at zero,” said Birgit Sippel, a centre‑left German EU lawmaker.

Member states are still struggling to put the complex new rules in place, even as a tough stance on migration is likely to be a key element of election campaigns in France, Greece, Italy, Poland and Spain next year.

"The political centre of gravity has already shifted significantly rightward over the past decade," said Roberto Forin of the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC), a research centre collecting data along migration routes.

"Each election cycle risks normalising positions that would have been considered extreme not long ago."

FALSE DICHOTOMY

Some critics argue the reforms rely too heavily on deterrence and overlook the root causes of migration, including conflict, poverty and political repression.

Forin noted a survey his group conducted last year of more than 4,000 migrants along Mediterranean routes, which found 64% were undeterred by EU and national policies, and fewer than 1% said they had abandoned plans as a result of policy action.

“The debate has been trapped in a false dichotomy … as if the only way to demonstrate control is to restrict and deter,” he said.

The pact introduces a new "solidarity mechanism" requiring EU member states that receive fewer asylum applications either to accept relocations or provide financial contributions or operational support to countries where more arrive.

However, critics say it lacks strong enforcement, relying on political pressure that could fuel tensions between states.

Member states are keen to keep arrivals low despite easing immigration pressures. EU data show irregular arrivals fell 26% last year to their lowest level since 2021, with asylum applications also declining.

"I would expect member states to do everything they can to keep arrivals, and pressure on their asylum systems, low, to reduce the risk that the rules are put to the test too early,” said Alberto Horst Neidhardt, senior policy analyst at European Policy Centre.

European countries are keen on setting up centres outside the bloc where failed asylum seekers can be deported.

The European Commission says it is backing implementation with new funding, and has proposed a €6.34 billion ($6.8 billion) budget for migration, border management and internal security in the next seven-year budget to support the rollouts.

The pact lists safeguards aimed at protecting rights for vulnerable groups.

However, rights groups and analysts warn the new framework limits access to asylum and weakens protections. The expanded use of detention can keep asylum seekers held for several months and may restrict access to services and rights.

"Our fear is that bad law coupled with an unwillingness to enforce standards ... leads to a continuation of this race to the bottom,” said Minos Mouzourakis, a lawyer at Greece-based non-profit Refugee Support Aegean. REUTERS