In a joint interview with the Lusa news agency and other European media outlets, Magnus Brunner considered that the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is fully entering into force, will change “the entire migration and asylum system” and will allow “the European house to be put back in order.”

EU responsibility

“Ten or eleven years ago [during the 2015 migration crisis], the EU assumed many responsibilities, but we had no system or control over what was happening in the EU. That is why this pact is so important,” he said, adding that the pact is the “centrepiece” of the reform that the EU is undertaking on this issue.

Magnus Brunner noted, however, that the pact's entry into force is only the “starting point” and that, “in the coming days and weeks,” the system will be improved and the European Commission will try to help Member States “improve the situation.”

Initial failures

Asked if this means that the European Commission is expecting initial failures in the implementation of the pact, the European Commissioner replied: “Will everything work perfectly on the first day? Of course not.”

“The pact is of enormous size… From a technological and IT perspective, it is a gigantic project. It is a far-reaching political reform; it is something very significant. Therefore, assuming everything will work perfectly from day one is unrealistic. But we are here to improve the situation day by day,” he assured.

Support for Member States

Magnus Brunner stated that the European Commission is prepared to “support Member States in filling the gaps” that “may appear” or in eliminating “technical problems.”

“That’s why I always say this is just the beginning. We will analyse the situation in the coming days and weeks, and then we will have the next report in July, in which we will identify existing gaps and see how we can support Member States in addressing them,” he indicated.

The commissioner stressed that the new Pact on Migration and Asylum will also complement what he called “migration diplomacy,” which aims to use the EU’s “influence and pressure” tools at the migration level, such as granting visas, to reach agreements with third countries.

“To give an example of how visa policy can have an impact, we tried to establish a dialogue with Ethiopia about a year and a half ago. And they didn’t respond, so we adopted some visa sanctions against Ethiopia, and it worked, suddenly they opened the door, answered the phone, and it became possible to dialogue. So, we see that our policy effectively has an impact,” he indicated.

Enhanced border control

Greater border control, exhaustive registration, use of third countries, and distribution of responsibility become mandatory rules in Europe starting today with the entry into force of the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

After two years of preparation, the pact, which aims to address the growing number of irregular arrivals in the European Union (EU), becomes mandatory in all member states, introducing a profound reform in border control, asylum application processing, and the return of migrants.