The New Pact on Migration and Asylum: Unpacking responsibility and solidarity

21 March 2024 - Hybrid Conference

Speakers: Alberto-Horst Neidhardt, Senior Policy Analyst and Head of the European Migration and Diversity Programme, EPC; Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs (video message); Lilian Tsourdi, Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Migration Law and Governance, Maastricht University; Grigoris Delavekouras, Head of Justice and Home Affairs Unit, Permanent Representation of Greece to the EU; Alexander Sorel, Senior Adviser to the Executive Director, EU Asylum Agency; Catherine Woollard, Director of the European Council on Refugees and Exile; Philippe de Bruycker, Professor, Institute for European Studies, Université Libre de Bruxelles; H.P. Schreinemachers, Head of Unit, Justice and Home Affairs Department, Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU; Esther Pozo Vera, Head of Asylum Unit, DG HOME, European Commission; Raphael Bossong, Deputy Head of EU/Europe Research Division, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) Berlin

Moderators: Jean-Louis De Brouwer, Director, European Affairs programme, Egmont Institute; Helena Hahn, Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre

After years-long negotiations, the European Parliament and Council are set to adopt the New Pact in time for the EU elections in June 2024. The reforms aim to strike a better balance between solidarity and responsibility, ensuring that the EU asylum system is as effective as it is fair. Despite the inclusion of a mandatory, flexible solidarity mechanism, however, limited changes to responsibility-allocation criteria combined with the expanded and mandatory use of border procedures could lead to disproportionate pressure on some states. Preparation for implementing the reforms is already underway, but questions also remain on whether the necessary resources, and political will, can be secured and maintained to achieve a more balanced system.

Will the European Commission and member states put this objective at the heart of their implementation plans? How can the New Pact manage to ensure compliance with the new rules while also rectifying the existing imbalances? How will the balance between solidarity and responsibility play out in crisis situations? And how can the fundamental rights of people on the move be safeguarded, considering the new obligations of member states? This hybrid Conference, divided in two panels, looked at responsibility and solidarity elements of the reforms.