The EU Migration Pact at Two: What Remains of the Fresh Start?

Two years after the presentation of the New Pact on Asylum and Migration, this policy brief takes stock of the negotiations. Although there has recently been some movement in the efforts to reform the EU asylum system, which have been stuck for years, little has remained of the promised "fresh start". The authors argue that the proposed reforms and the reference to individual progress in the negotiations seem increasingly out of touch with reality given the ongoing grievances at the EU's external borders. In view of the Council's and the European Parliament's (EP) goal of concluding negotiations by April 2024, the progressive forces in both institutions should use the remaining time to make access to a fair asylum procedure and respect for fundamental rights at the EU's external borders central building blocks of the reformed asylum system.

Rasche Lucas, Natalie Welfens & Marcus Engler (2022), The Pact at Two: What remains of the fresh start?, Jacques Delors Centre Policy Brief.