Commission presents the Common Implementation Plan for the Pact on Migration and Asylum

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

After a historic agreement was reached on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, work has started to translate the large and complex set of legislative acts into an operational reality over the next two years. This will be a common endeavour, with the Commission supporting Member States every step of the way. The Common Implementation Plan for the Pact on Migration and Asylum, adopted by the Commission today, sets out the key milestones for all Member States to put in place the legal and operational capabilities required to successfully start applying the new legislation by mid-2026. In addition, the EU Agencies will also provide both operational and targeted support to the Member States throughout this process.

The Common Implementation Plan provides a template for the National Implementation Plans to be adopted by Member States by the end of this year.It groups the legal, technical and operational work into 10 building blocks to focus and facilitate the practical implementation efforts.

All building blocks are fundamentally interdependent and need to be implemented in parallel.

The 10 building blocks:

1. A common migration and asylum information system (Eurodac): will support Member States notably with the determination of responsibility and the monitoring of secondary movements. The new Eurodac is the large-scale IT system that will store and process data of asylum seekers. The timely development and entry into operation of the reformed Eurodac system is a critical precondition for the implementation of all the other elements of the Pact.
2. A new system to manage migration at the EU external borders: to manage the irregular arrivals of non-EU nationals and setting up fast, efficient and streamlined procedures for asylum and return, as well as strong safeguards. The Screening Regulation, the Asylum Procedure Regulation, and the Regulation on a Return Border Procedure, provide for a harmonised approach. All irregular migrants will be registered and subject to a screening of their identity, security risk, vulnerability, and health. In a second stage, a mandatory border procedure will apply for those who are likely not in need of international protection or present a security risk.
3. Ensuring adequate reception standards of living for applicants in relation to their needs. For example, for applicants for international protection there is earlier access to the labour market (6 months instead of 9 months), physical and mental healthcare and more protection for families, children, and vulnerable applicants. Moreover, the Reception Conditions Directive has also new tools improving the efficiency of the reception system and helping to prevent secondary movements. For example, Member States will have the possibility of allocating applicants to accommodations and geographical areas, making the provision of material reception conditions subject to actual residence in the accommodation where applicants have been allocated or in a specific area. Furthermore, Member States will have to provide only for basic needs when applicants are not in the Member State where they are supposed to be.
4. Fair, efficient and convergent asylum procedures: the Asylum Procedure Regulation and the Qualification Regulation streamline the assessment and decision-making process of individual asylum applications across Europe and reinforce the safeguards, rights and guarantees for applicants and beneficiaries of international protection.
5. Efficient and fair return procedures: the EU’s migration policy can only be sustainable if those who do not have the right to stay in the EU are effectively returned.  The Return Coordinator will play a key role, building on the work already launched to improve joint planning of flights and identification missions including to optimise the use of Frontex support, exchange practices and experience on the joint issuance of negative asylum decisions and return decisions and cooperation on return of returnees posing a security threat.
6. A fair and efficient system: making the new responsibility rules work: by establishing effective and stable responsibility-sharing across the Union and reducing incentives for secondary movements. For instance, the procedures will be made more effective with the ‘take back’ notifications. Moreover, there will be new rules in place aimed to prevent abuse of the system (such as the obligation for applicants to apply in the Member State of first entry).
7. Making solidarity work: for the first time, the EU has a permanent, legally-binding, but flexible solidarity mechanism to ensure that no Member State is left alone when under pressure.
8. Preparedness, contingency planning, and crisis response: helping to build more resilience to the evolution of migratory situations, as well as reduce the risks of situations of crisis.
9. New safeguards for asylum applicants and vulnerable persons: increased monitoring of fundamental rights, by ensuring effective procedures while protecting human dignity and a genuine and effective right to asylum including for the most vulnerable, such as children.
10. Resettlement, inclusion, and integration: stepping up efforts in these areas of. Member States’ efforts for the integration and inclusion of migrants remain indispensable for a successful migration and asylum policy.

The Pact on Migration and Asylum reflects a comprehensive and a whole-of-route approach to migration management. Therefore, the Commission is pursuing with the Member States a two-track approach, accompanying legislative work at EU level with operational activities. This notably includes work on the external dimension of migration, through the pursuit of comprehensive partnerships with partner countries. While actions in this area are not tied to legal obligations, it will be essential for the EU to continue and further intensify work with partner countries, notably in three key areas: the fight against migrant smuggling, effective returns, readmission and reintegration as well as legal pathways.

Next Steps

The Common Implementation Plan will be presented to Member States at the Home Affairs Council, after which it will be used as a basis for the preparation of Member States’ National Implementation Plans which are due by December 2024. Based on the Common Implementation Plan, the next step is for Member States to establish their respective National Implementation Plans by 12 December 2024. Member States can count on the operational, technical and financial support of the Commission and EU Agencies throughout the whole process. Member States may also receive support from the Technical Support Instrument, which will be launching a dedicated call to support Member States in developing their National Implementation Plans. The Commission has set up dedicated support teams that will visit all Member State capitals between now and the autumn to assist Member States in the preparation of these National Implementation Plans.

The Commission will closely monitor the progress made with the implementation of the Pact and report regularly to the European Parliament and the Council.

Background

The Commission presented the Pact on Migration and Asylum in September 2020, with the aim of finding long-term and sustainable solutions to managing migration. The Pact will create a legal framework that balances solidarity and responsibility between Member States, in a comprehensive approach to managing migration effectively and fairly. After a political agreement on 20 December 2023, it was adopted by the European Parliament on 10 April 2024, and by the Council later on 14 May. The legal instruments of the Pact, including some which had been already proposed in 2016, entered into force on 11 June 2024 and will enter into application after two years, as of 12 June 2026; except the Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework Regulation, which is already applicable today.

For more information

Common Implementation Plan

Explanatory memo on the Pact on Migration and Asylum

Pact on Migration and Asylum – Legislative files in a nutshell

Official Journal – legislative texts – Pact on Migration and Asylum

Quote(s)

Today we are presenting a blueprint for the next two years of work to help make the Pact on Migration and Asylum a reality on the ground. This is further testament to the Commission’s determination to spare no effort in ensuring Member States have all the expertise, operational and financial support they need to turn legal commitments into practice. Not all Member States are starting from the same point, but we will all cross the finish line together.

Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life

Today we go from word to action, with a common goal; to implement what we have agreed on. With the Common Implementation Plan we move to operational and pragmatic implementation to make a difference on the ground – in Member States, in regions and communes and for migrants themselves. Member States can fully count on the Commission and EU Agencies and our financial and operational support.

Ylva Johansson, Commissioner for Home Affairs