Adhiyanth Ram — June 9, 2026
The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum will be enforced on June 12, 2026, after a two year long implementation period. The pact is a set of ten interrelated EU laws which span the whole range of migration policy. These laws cover border controls and asylum procedures to the breakdown of responsibilities shared between members of the European Union. EU interior ministers last December formally approved the wide-reaching enforcement measures, including accelerating expulsions, establishing “return centers” outside of the EU’s borders to hold denied asylum applicants, and the transfer of 420 million euros in solidarity funds to vital European Union member states like Italy and Greece.
The controversial regulations will extend the allowed legal detention time from six months to two years for irregular migrants (however, there is no legal detention time limit for asylum applicants who are considered threats to national security). The pact has been highly praised by right-wing members of the European Parliament as ushering in “the era of deportations.” However, more than 200 civil society groups have warned it will “increase risks for migrants and risks to the legal system.” Throughout Europe, comparisons have been drawn across the Atlantic, to Donald Trump’s hardline migration policies.
However, the tougher stance has not come as a result of the migration surge; rather, migrant arrivals have actually decreased. In 2025, there was a fall of 26% in the number of illegal border crossings into EU countries, on top of a fall of 38% in 2024. The more aggressive immigration approach appears to have been implemented due not to the presence of a migration crisis, but due to the rising levels of support for far-right political parties, such as France’s National Rally, Germany’s AfD and Spain’s Vox in the run-up to the 2027 European elections. Once again, Europe is demonstrating its steady movement further and further towards the right, as more and more far-right politicians and policies take control throughout the continent.
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