Border Procedures under the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: Fundamental Rights Compliant?
In this comment, the Migration and Asylum subcommittee of the Young Meijers Committee respond to the adoption of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is due to take effect on 12 June 2026. The Pact introduces a set of new rules aimed at managing migration and establishing a common asylum system at EU level. This comment discusses two key facets of the Pact — the Screening Regulation and the Asylum Procedures Regulation — assessing how the provisions of these regulations will affect the fundamental rights of asylum seekers.
The Pact is analysed through the lens of three core rights: the prohibition of refoulement, the right to asylum, and the right to an effective remedy, as laid down in Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention and Articles 18 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This comment analyses the extent to which the new regulations are compliant with these protections and the knock on implications for those seeking international protection at the external borders.
This research first sets out the legal framework of the Pact’s Screening and Asylum Procedures regulations. Subsequently, it addresses the barriers asylum seekers will encounter when requesting international protection at the external border under the new rules. These elements are brought together with an overview of the barriers faced by asylum seekers since the adoption of the Pact, noting that the Pact will exaggerate the hurdles that asylum seekers will face at the external border to apply for asylum. The overview outlines possible avenues for legal remedies to ensure effective access to protection and the realisation of the rights of migrants.
In light of this examination, several recommendations are posed. Crucially, this comment calls for the Pact to be recentred around the individual and their specific protection needs, rather than migration control. This means asylum claims must be examined on an individual basis and on their own merits, instead of using generalised indicators such as recognition rates linked to nationality. Further, it is recommended that vulnerable groups should be excluded from border and accelerated procedures, and the suspensive effect of appeals should be restored, to ensure that the Pact is fundamental rights compliant.
Border Procedures under the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: Fundamental Rights Compliant?
In this comment, the Migration and Asylum subcommittee of the Young Meijers Committee respond to the adoption of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is due to take effect on 12 June 2026. The Pact introduces a set of new rules aimed at managing migration and establishing a common asylum system at EU level. This comment discusses two key facets of the Pact — the Screening Regulation and the Asylum Procedures Regulation — assessing how the provisions of these regulations will affect the fundamental rights of asylum seekers.
The Pact is analysed through the lens of three core rights: the prohibition of refoulement, the right to asylum, and the right to an effective remedy, as laid down in Article 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention and Articles 18 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This comment analyses the extent to which the new regulations are compliant with these protections and the knock on implications for those seeking international protection at the external borders.
This research first sets out the legal framework of the Pact’s Screening and Asylum Procedures regulations. Subsequently, it addresses the barriers asylum seekers will encounter when requesting international protection at the external border under the new rules. These elements are brought together with an overview of the barriers faced by asylum seekers since the adoption of the Pact, noting that the Pact will exaggerate the hurdles that asylum seekers will face at the external border to apply for asylum. The overview outlines possible avenues for legal remedies to ensure effective access to protection and the realisation of the rights of migrants.
In light of this examination, several recommendations are posed. Crucially, this comment calls for the Pact to be recentred around the individual and their specific protection needs, rather than migration control. This means asylum claims must be examined on an individual basis and on their own merits, instead of using generalised indicators such as recognition rates linked to nationality. Further, it is recommended that vulnerable groups should be excluded from border and accelerated procedures, and the suspensive effect of appeals should be restored, to ensure that the Pact is fundamental rights compliant.
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9 March 2026