Standardized procedures

Reform of the EU asylum system has been finalized

Plans include standardized procedures at the EU's external borders and tougher treatment of people from countries that are considered relatively safe.

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The reform of the EU asylum system announced in April 2024 was finalized on Tuesday. It provides for numerous tightening of the existing rules. The aim of the EU asylum and migration pact is to curb irregular migration. The EU countries have two years to implement it. 

The Council of the EU member states gave its final approval to the reform of the EU asylum system in Brussels on Tuesday. The EU Parliament had already given the green light in April. The package of EU laws can now enter into force following publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

Uniform border procedures
The package provides for uniform border procedures at the EU's external borders. In particular, there are plans to deal much more harshly with people from countries that are considered relatively safe.

Reception camps until decision on asylum application
People may be held in detention-like conditions in reception camps until a decision is made on their asylum application.

In future, it should be easier to deport rejected asylum seekers to safe third countries.

Asylum applications in Europe

According to Eurostat data, asylum applications in Europe are on the rise: In 2023, a fifth more people applied for asylum in the European Union than in 2022. After a significant decline in 2020 (417,100), the number of first-time applicants across the EU has been rising for three years in a row, and in 2023 almost reached the highs of 2015 and 2016 (1,216,900 and 1,166,800) after the start of the war in Syria. Austria recorded the second-highest number of initial applications in relation to the population in 2023.

"Solidarity mechanism"
The distribution of people seeking protection among EU countries will be reorganized in the future with a "solidarity mechanism": Countries that do not want to take in any (more) refugees will have to provide compensatory support, for example in the form of monetary payments. If a particularly large number of refugees arrive in an EU country, the "crisis regulation" will take effect. Migrants could then be detained for longer.