BRUSSELS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The European Union's (EU) Migration and Asylum Pact took effect on Friday, marking one of the bloc's most significant efforts to address the growing tension between migration pressures and governance capacity.
The pact seeks to manage divisions among member states through a solidarity mechanism while preserving free movement within the Schengen area. However, it remains to be seen whether the EU can reconcile its humanitarian commitments with the practical limits of collective implementation.
FROM OPENNESS TO CONTROL
The new pact strengthens control over migration flows at the EU's external borders through expanded data collection. It also allows "return hubs" to be built in third countries.
At its core, the pact reflects a gradual but fundamental shift in the EU's migration philosophy. The European Policy Centre (EPC) described the pact as a "turning point" after years of tension.
During the height of Europe's migration crisis, the dominant policy emphasis was on humanitarian protection and reception. Today, the focus has increasingly shifted toward border management and return procedures.
Germany has reintroduced land border checks since 2024 and has refused the European Commission's latest request to ease border controls; instead, it has decided to extend them until September. Many of its neighboring countries adopted similar border restrictions, citing security concerns. Latvia on Thursday adopted a new law aimed at strengthening border control and regular monitoring of migrants even after accepting them.
Jin Ling, senior research fellow and director of the Department for European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told Xinhua that the economic, social and security pressures - particularly on the EU's border countries, have contributed to growing public fatigue over irregular migration.
She noted that the rise of right-wing political forces in the past decade has also prompted a shift towards stricter migration policies against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions and economic sluggishness across the continent.
In 2024, after years of debate, the EU finally approved the pact, providing for two years of preparation of legislation and infrastructure.
Gerhard Stahl, a visiting professor at Peking University HSBC Business School, told Xinhua that illegal arrivals and secondary movements have undermined the EU's Schengen system by increasing border checks and eroding trust among member states. The pact, he said, is expected to help safeguard the bloc's defining achievement of free movement.
DISPUTES OVER RESPONSIBILITY AND VALUES
Despite broad political agreement on the need for reform, the pact has exposed controversies that pose a challenge to the bloc's longstanding humanitarian stance.
The EPC called the pact a "strategic mistake" in the externalization of migration control and deportation, warning that cooperation with third countries could weaken protections for asylum seekers and strain Europe's commitment to a humanitarian system.
"If you outsource it to structures you do not fully control, it becomes a serious question," Stahl said.
According to La Cimade, a French organization advocating for the rights of migrants and asylum seekers, certain provisions of the pact are "deeply cynical." The organization argued that the EU distorts the concept of solidarity by placing the relocation of asylum seekers and the externalization of migration management on the same footing.
"Even though Europeans have realized they have to adopt tougher approaches to migration similar to those seen in the United States, they will find themselves in a painful paradox between humanitarian values and political reality," Jin Ling said.
Another paradox is that labour market demands often pull policy in the opposite direction.
Stahl pointed out that migration pressures are unlikely to disappear as Europe's ageing population and persistent labour shortages mean that migration will remain structurally necessary.
"Europe has already become an immigration society," he said. The difficulty of the pact, in his view, lies in maintaining openness while reinforcing control.
PRACTICAL CHALLENGE AHEAD
While the pact establishes a common legal framework, putting this into practice may prove an uphill battle.
One of the central uncertainties concerns burden-sharing among member states. Some countries, such as Hungary and Slovakia, have been reluctant to commit financial or other forms of support. According to a recent Euronews poll, 38 percent of respondents believe that individual countries should retain sole authority over how many migrants they accept.
Another key challenge lies in the rollout phase. Day one of the pact marks a beginning rather than an accomplishment, and not every member state is at the same level of preparedness. The European Commission reported in May that several countries were lagging behind in their IT and administrative preparations.
The EPC also noted that the new mechanism requires regular monitoring reports to assess implementation and effectiveness. Therefore, the first major assessment scheduled for October will mark an important test of the pact's performance.
Beyond policy implementation, analysts argue that the pact ultimately reflects a deeper institutional question: whether the EU can function as an effective system of collective governance. It tests whether shared rules can be matched by shared implementation and whether integration can advance in a field where national sensitivities remain strong. ■