One year after the adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the European Commission has issued its first formal progress report, offering an assessment that blends cautious optimism with recurring concerns.
While key legislative milestones have been met and technical groundwork is advancing in several areas, the report exposes significant shortfalls in Member State preparedness and coordination.
The Pact, adopted in June 2024 and entering into force on 11 June of that year, was presented as a long-overdue reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). It aimed to establish a harmonised framework balancing responsibility and solidarity, simplifying procedures and improving the management of asylum claims, returns, and border control.
However, the Commission’s own review makes clear that one year into the two-year transition period, much of the infrastructure required for implementation remains incomplete or underdeveloped.
Critical Gaps Behind Legislative Timelines
The renewed Eurodac database—intended to underpin the entire system by storing biometric data and enabling swift identification of applicants—has made “significant progress”, according to the Commission. In practice, however, several Member States are lagging behind in deploying the required systems. The Commission’s reliance on EU agencies such as eu-LISA to provide “additional support” suggests that compliance across the bloc is patchy and fragmented.
At the EU’s external borders, the situation is equally uneven. While some Member States have reached the minimum requirements in terms of reception capacity and personnel, there are delays in identifying operational screening locations. The procurement of necessary infrastructure and equipment remains incomplete, raising questions about the EU’s ability to enforce the new border procedures by mid-2026.
Reception Capacity: A Structural Weakness
Despite repeated calls for harmonised reception standards, the Commission report acknowledges that sufficient capacity and adequate conditions are not yet guaranteed across the Union. In effect, this failure risks undermining one of the Pact’s key objectives: preventing secondary movements of asylum seekers within the EU. Without standardised reception quality, asylum applicants will continue to seek transfer to countries perceived as offering better support.
The lack of uniformity also extends to asylum procedures themselves. Member States are still adjusting to the revised legal framework, but the Commission notes that processing backlogs remain a serious concern. Increasing administrative capacity and training asylum officers are identified as priorities, though it remains unclear whether sufficient resources are being allocated at national level to meet these demands.
Stalled Progress on Returns and Solidarity
One of the Pact’s most contentious aspects—the streamlining of return procedures—has yet to show meaningful progress. Negotiations on the proposed Return Regulation remain unfinished, despite its centrality to the system’s functioning. Without an effective return mechanism, the EU continues to operate with loopholes that undermine both asylum integrity and border management.
Similarly, the new solidarity mechanism, which was intended to distribute asylum responsibilities more equitably among Member States, is still at a preparatory stage. Although the first solidarity cycle is scheduled for October 2025, the report offers limited reassurance about Member States’ readiness to contribute to it. The Commission’s warning that Dublin transfers must take place “to and from all Member States” hints at continued reluctance by some governments to fully participate in burden-sharing arrangements.
Rights-Based Safeguards Not Yet Operational
The report refers to the Pact’s balance between control measures and fundamental rights, including new obligations for independent monitoring and legal counselling. However, these safeguards have not yet been operationalised. Member States are said to be working toward implementing them, but no firm timetable is provided, and the Commission avoids addressing the implications of continuing legal uncertainty for applicants.
Contingency planning—a key requirement given the volatile nature of migration flows—also remains underdeveloped. The Commission urges Member States to test and align their plans, yet this recommendation, too, points to an unfinished component of a system that is due to enter full operation in less than 12 months.
Financial and Institutional Support: No Substitute for Political Will
To support implementation, the EU has allocated an additional €3 billion from its budget, primarily to assist countries hosting displaced persons from Ukraine. While this financial backing is significant, it cannot resolve the underlying problem of political divergence among Member States. The report tacitly acknowledges that technical progress alone will not suffice, calling for “sustained political engagement and ownership at national level.”
This appeal reflects the core dilemma facing the Pact: despite central coordination, the effectiveness of the system ultimately depends on individual Member States aligning their policies, capacities, and political priorities with common EU objectives. So far, evidence of this alignment remains limited.
Outlook
The next progress report, due in October 2025, will coincide with the launch of the first annual solidarity cycle. Whether Member States will have closed the implementation gaps by then remains doubtful. The current report stops short of identifying non-compliant countries or proposing enforcement measures, relying instead on voluntary cooperation and peer pressure.
As it stands, the Pact’s promise of a unified and robust EU migration system is still far from being realised. With just a year remaining before the Pact becomes fully applicable, the Commission’s review highlights not a success story, but a warning: that without urgent and coordinated action, the system may enter into force with key components unfinished, and with national interests continuing to override common EU rules.
