Implementing the Pact on Migration and Asylum

Implementing the legislation adopted under the Pact on Migration and Asylum has required considerable effort at EU and national level and will continue to require efforts following the entry into application of the new rules on 12 June 2026. 

The Common Implementation Plan and implementation reports

The implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum is a complex process that involves multiple actors, including the European Commission, EU Member States, and EU agencies. The Common Implementation Plan outlined the steps necessary to implement the Pact, across 10 building blocks that cover different aspects of migration and asylum policy: 

1. A common migration and asylum information system (Eurodac)
2. A new system to manage migration at the EU external borders
3. Rethinking reception
4. Fair, efficient, and convergent asylum procedures
5. Efficient and fair return procedures
6. A fair and efficient system: making the new responsibility rules work
7. Making solidarity work
8. Preparedness, Contingency Planning and Crisis response
9. New safeguards for applicants for international protection and vulnerable persons, and increased monitoring of fundamental rights
10. Resettlement, Inclusion and Integration. 

The Commission has regularly assessed progress towards implementing the Pact under each of these building blocks, with the most recent report on the state of play published in May 2026. These assessments have showed the progress made and have also identified the efforts necessary to ensure that the rules under the Pact can apply fully and effectively. 

The Commission has supported the Member States’ preparation for the implementation of the Pact, through: 

• The Common Implementation Plan and the annexed Checklist
• Support to the drafting of the Member States’ National Implementation Plans
• Q&As
• TSI dedicated calls
• EUAA trainings and guidance
• Additional allocations of EU funding
• Contact Committees, and other political and technical groups to prepare implementing rules and guidelines

Solidarity and the cycle of governance: How it works

One key element of implementing the Pact at EU level was putting in place the solidarity cycle. This annual cycle of governance ensures that the EU and its Member States are prepared to respond to migratory pressures and that solidarity is provided to the EU countries that need it.  

The cycle is repeated every year, with the Commission presenting a new European Annual Asylum and Migration Report, assessing which Member States are under migratory pressure and proposing a new Council implementing act regarding the Solidarity Pool.  

Text version

Visit our dedicated webpage for more information on the solidarity cycle and the parallel measures on responsibility. 

European Asylum and Migration Strategy

Another key element of the implementation of the Pact at EU level was the adoption of the first European Asylum and Migration Management Strategy sets out the EU’s vision on asylum and migration, with political objectives and concrete priorities for the next five years.   

Five priorities:  

1) Stepping up Migration Diplomacy   

2) Strong EU borders to enhance control and security  

3) A firm, fair and adaptable asylum and migration system   

4) More effective return and readmission  

5) Labour and talent mobility to boost competitiveness  

The strategy builds on Member States’ national asylum and migration management strategies, and on the steady progress both at Union and national level achieved in recent years. It is presented in the context of the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, notably the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR), which mandates the Commission to prepare a European Asylum and Migration Management Strategy.