EU Implements New Migration and Asylum Reform

A comprehensive EU migration package entered into force on Friday, aiming to tighten border controls and overhaul the asylum system. The commission said, “for the first time we have a closed European system,” according to EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner.

Key measures include up to seven‑day identity and security checks with biometric facial and fingerprint data stored in a EU database, and accelerated rejection of applications deemed low‑chance or security‑risk (e.g., from Morocco or Bangladesh) within a twelve‑week procedure. The reform also introduces a solidarity mechanism that obliges member states to relocate at least 30,000 asylum seekers annually from high‑pressure fronts such as Italy, Greece and Malta, or pay €20,000 per person to those front‑line countries.

An emergency clause allows longer detention of migrants at external borders during sudden influxes, reminiscent of the 2015‑2016 crises, and the EU cites “instrumentalisation” of migration flows by Belarus and Russia. Human‑rights groups warn the new rules could lead to the detention of migrants, including children, for the entire duration of the process.