The European Commission has obliged the Member States to adopt national plans
After eight years of discussion and preparation, the European Parliament adopted the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and it is now up to the member states to adopt it and start implementation. What is new about the pact and how will it affect the lives of those it applies to, as well as all Europeans, for Diplomacy&Commerce magazine explains dr. sc. Emina Bužinkić, Migration Justice Expert at the Institute for Development and International Relations.
- What does the plan entail that is new compared to previous policies in this area and when is its full implementation expected in the Member States?
The New Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted after years of discussion, is a troubling extension of the EU’s long-standing, restrictive, security-first approach to migration governance. Building on the Dublin Regulation and the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), it tightens control over migration and asylum processes, focusing more on preventing migration than ensuring protection.
What is new in this Pact compared to previous policies is the explicit institutionalization of two complementary strategies:
• The Externalization of EU Borders: The EU deepens its reliance on third countries to manage migration on its behalf. By tying cooperation on migration to things like EU accession, it formally outsources border control to non-EU states, pushing the deterrence agenda even further; and
• Heightened Internal Control Measures: The Pact intensifies internal surveillance, border procedures, and restrictions on asylum seekers, reinforcing a trend of criminalizing migration. While presented as a way to improve efficiency, these measures further marginalize and violate the rights of people, particularly those from the Global South. Regarding implementation, the new rules entered into force on 11 June 2024, with full implementation expected by mid-2026. Member States were required to submit their national implementation plans by December 2024
2. What does the New Pact on Asylum and Migration bring? Can we highlight the key points?
Certainly! There are 8 components: The Pact includes eight main components:
• Solidarity and Responsibility: A mandatory yet flexible mechanism for Member States to share responsibility for asylum seekers. States can relocate migrants, offer financial contributions, or provide other forms of support.
• Response to Crisis Situations: Member States can deviate from standard EU legal norms in crisis scenarios, enabling more flexible responses to sudden migration pressures.
• Screening at EU Borders: All individuals arriving at the EU’s external borders must undergo screening within five days to assess identity, health, and security risks.
• Accelerated Asylum Procedures: Asylum seekers from countries with low recognition rates will be subjected to accelerated procedures, aiming for decisions within 12 weeks.
• EURODAC System for Identification: A strengthened system to track asylum applications and irregular migration, facilitating the identification and monitoring of migrants.
• Standards for Qualification: Efforts to harmonize criteria across Member States for granting international protection, ensuring consistent recognition of those in need.
• Reception Conditions: The Pact aims to standardize reception conditions to ensure humane and dignified treatment for asylum seekers.
• Safe and Legal Pathways: It emphasizes the importance of creating safe and legal routes for migrants, aiming to reduce reliance on smugglers and dangerous journeys.
3. What will be the biggest challenges in implementing the new document?
In the coated language that the EU officially uses, these reforms aim to create a more balanced and efficient approach to migration and asylum within the EU, emphasizing shared responsibility, streamlined procedures, and adaptability in crisis situations. In a grim reality, the Pact will most certainly lead to increased human rights violations at Europe’s borders and won’t sufficiently ease the pressure on states of first entry such as Greece. Some of these challenges, from a justice perspective, include a severely restricted access to the asylum system, easier dismissal of claims without assessing their merits, and an expanded definition of “safe third countries” and “misleading authorities.” These changes could lead to prolonged detention of asylum seekers, including vulnerable groups such as children. Additionally, the Pact fails to prevent illegal pushbacks, increases the risk of people being returned to unsafe countries, and provides no clear or effective mechanism for independent border monitoring. The solidarity mechanism allows Member States to avoid relocation and resettlement obligations through financial contributions, which is particularly concerning in a context where migrants and refugees are increasingly criminalized.
4. What is Croatia’s position in relation to the rest of the EU when it comes to migration and asylum, bearing in mind that we border non member states, but also bearing in mind the cooperation with these states on jointly guarding the external border of the Union?
As a frontline state, Croatia has fully embraced the EU’s harsh migration agenda. Officially, it adheres to European asylum standards, but in practice, it is at the forefront of violent pushbacks and systematic human rights violations. Instead of pushing for humane policies, Croatian politicians across the spectrum contribute to the racialization and criminalization of migrants. Calls for vigilante groups to “deal with” migrants are not uncommon, while public officials promote detention centers as solutions to “the problem.” Croatia’s collaboration with non-EU states like Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia extends the EU’s border control efforts, pushing the violence and abuses further beyond EU territory. This strategy allows both Croatia and the EU to sidestep responsibility for the suffering that occurs at these borders—violence, theft, and the denial of asylum. Ultimately, migration justice is not a priority for Croatia’s political leaders. The country is increasingly committed to policies of surveillance, detention, and repression—further dehumanizing people on the move while normalizing violence.
5.Despite the fact that the process of drafting the New Pact on Asylum and Migration lasted for years, concerns are being expressed in many aspects regarding respect for the human rights of refugees and migrants. The solidarity mechanism allows Member States to avoid the obligation to relocate and resettle through financial contributions, which is particularly sensitive in the context of the criminalization of migrants and refugees. Do you think that the new solutions will be useful and could this issue have been resolved differently?
The New Pact extends control, surveillance, detention, and deportation with little accountability. It legitimizes arbitrary decision-making, allowing states to criminalize migrants without consequence. The so-called solidarity mechanism, which allows Member States to opt out of relocation by paying for it, exemplifies how the EU treats human lives as commodities. This framework exacerbates the criminalization of migration, with even children subjected to detention and interrogation. I recently visited graveyards in the Balkans, where countless migrants who perished trying to cross borders lie in unmarked graves. The Pact, by bolstering border regimes and externalizing control, guarantees more deaths. These individuals, even in death, remain nameless and forgotten—denied dignity both in life and in remembrance.
6.The issue of migration and asylum is at the top of the new EC’s priorities. How do you see Europe and the EU in this regard in 20 years and to what extent is this process realistically solvable, and to what extent will it still not be possible to control these processes?
Migration cannot be controlled—it should not be. Europe’s colonial past and its ongoing imperial practices must be confronted if justice is ever to be achieved. True migration justice means dismantling racialization, bridging the divides between the Global North and South, and confronting the systems of racial capitalism and exploitation that fuel migration. It requires recognizing that migration justice is inseparable from climate justice, and that all justice is fundamentally epistemic. In twenty years, we must reject the security-driven approach and confront the root causes of migration. Only then can we begin dismantling these destructive systems and create a world where justice—not control—shapes migration policy. We must also cultivate a culture of true hospitality, one that stops viewing migrants as unwelcome intruders or temporary guests, and instead recognizes them as rightful members of our shared humanity. Such responsibility lies with academics, economists, journalists, and neighbors alike.