What’s next for EU’s migration pact: ICMPD analysis

In May, the European Union adopted its controversial Pact on Migration and Asylum, a group of 10 legislative acts that reconstructed the continent’s asylum and migration system, including boosting the collection of biometric data in Eurodac.

The Pact’s final adoption, however, does not mean that the debates are over. Although the Pact has been three and a half years in the making, Europe still has many contentious issues to solve which will likely unfold later this year, according to an analysis published by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). The group holds a UN observer status and assists governments in researching and formulating migration-related policies, including provisioning biometrics equipment.

One of these issues will be addressing the impact of AI on border management and criticism from civil rights groups and EU agencies related to managing migrants and their biometric data, including those of children – another novelty that the legislation introduces.

The Vienna-headquartered organization also points out that implementing the Pact will come with a hefty price tag.

According to the legislation, migrants arriving at the EU’s external borders irregularly must be screened to check their identities and health and security status within seven days. The Eurodac (European Dactylography) database will allow authorities to gather more data, including biometric data such as facial images. If authorities judge a migrant’s asylum claim as inadmissible or unfounded, they will enter an accelerated border procedure, including removal of the individual from the country within 12 weeks.

This new border management concept will mean that asylum seekers have to remain in touch with the authorities, at or near the border, until their identity is confirmed and status determined.

“Internally, the Pact regime will be expensive to implement and maintain, not least establishing screening facilities and holding centers with trained staff in every Member State,” writes ICMDP senior strategic advisor Hugo Brady.

The European Commission calculated in 2020 that the total cost could amount to 2 billion euros. ICMDP, however, warns that previous migrant crises, including the 2015-2016 asylum seeker influx and the 2022 Ukrainian refugee arrival, accrued much higher costs and that the funding provided by Member States will be insufficient to maintain the reformed border regime. The EU has already increased funding for migration during the mid-term budget review in February 2024.

The European Commission will need to agree with national governments on implementing the Pact six months after it entered into force on June 11th, 2024.

“The new Commission will start work in earnest in January 2025, beginning with around 20 implementing acts or instructions to national administrations on operationalizing the Pact, from exchange of information on asylum cases to standard procedures for screening and accelerated returns,” the analysis notes.

By that time, Europe will likely see the first results of its Entry-Exit system (EES), a border scheme requiring non-EU visitors to provide detailed personal information and fingerprint and face biometrics. The EES is expected to launch in November.

The implementation phase of the Pact will last two years. ICMPD expects the EU will formulate more initiatives in the future, including better migration partnerships between neighboring countries to allow the free flow of workers as well as explore remote processing of asylum claims similar to the model of the Safe Mobility Offices rolled out in Latin America under the Biden administration.

Another potential effect of the Pact will be reintroducing passport-free travel within Schengen countries, the organization concludes.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border management  |  Entry/Exit System (EES)  |  Europe  |  European Commission  |  International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)