The European Union launches the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum (PEMA) today, June 12, 2026, a set of ten legislative texts that constitute the broadest reform of the common asylum system in recent decades.

The regulations, debated since 2020 and approved by the European Parliament in 2024, establish a mandatory screening procedure at the borders with identification, collection of biometric data and security checks. In addition, it reinforces the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), pointed out for its opacity, questionable actions and human rights violations; as well as promoting the externalisation of migration control through agreements with third countries and facilitating expulsions.

The European Commission presented in March 2025 a proposal for a Return Regulation that would allow the creation of return centres outside Community territory, such as the prison for migrant people in Mauritania agreed with the Spanish State. These policies only increase illegal expulsions and deaths at sea, while weakening the procedural guarantees of asylum seekers.

The merely deterrent approach does not address the root causes of migration and aggravates human rights violations at borders. The pact adopts a securitarian approach, criminalising migration, and imposes obligations such as remaining locatable or providing biometric data. Migratory flows will not cease, but will be diverted along more dangerous routes, exposing people to greater risks.