The European Commission is due to present its Asylum and Migration Report today: an annual assessment of migratory pressure on the EU that sorts member states by their situation.
By law, it was due on 15 October. It’s weeks late for the second year running, because it touches several raw nerves. What to watch out for:
1️⃣ Rules, not just crises. The report judges not only which countries are under pressure, but how well they apply the rules. Italy is a sore point: Rome has clashed with Berlin and others by refusing to accept returns under Dublin.
2️⃣ Ceuta. It’s the first report since the crisis, so the Commission must walk a tightrope on Spain. Madrid took heavy fire from other capitals over so-called “pull factors”.
3️⃣ The Solidarity Pool. Shares are based on GDP and population, making France and Germany the biggest contributors, whether through relocations, money or operational support. But there’s a growing feeling that the system isn’t working, especially when countries are asked to show solidarity with others they think haven’t put their house in order.
Can the Commission defuse the tension? One option on the table: “responsibility offsets”, letting a country take over asylum applications from another member state.
By law, it was due on 15 October. It’s weeks late for the second year running, because it touches several raw nerves. What to watch out for:
1️⃣ Rules, not just crises. The report judges not only which countries are under pressure, but how well they apply the rules. Italy is a sore point: Rome has clashed with Berlin and others by refusing to accept returns under Dublin.
2️⃣ Ceuta. It’s the first report since the crisis, so the Commission must walk a tightrope on Spain. Madrid took heavy fire from other capitals over so-called “pull factors”.
3️⃣ The Solidarity Pool. Shares are based on GDP and population, making France and Germany the biggest contributors, whether through relocations, money or operational support. But there’s a growing feeling that the system isn’t working, especially when countries are asked to show solidarity with others they think haven’t put their house in order.
Can the Commission defuse the tension? One option on the table: “responsibility offsets”, letting a country take over asylum applications from another member state.
