EU plans to tighten migration pact: Euractiv

National governments are already laying the groundwork for a second round of EU migration legislation, just months after the bloc’s major overhaul of border security and asylum rules took effect, Euractiv reports.

Ministers from a broad group of EU countries will gather in Munich on Saturday to discuss potential changes to the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Top of the agenda are moves to call on the European Commission to come back with a “simplification” legislative package by mid-2027, according to a meeting document seen by Euractiv.

Countries will consider simplifying asylum procedures and making it easier to revoke protection status in certain cases, including those involving serious offenders, followed by their return.

They will also discuss simplifying the Pact to create a legal basis for using AI for interpretation during asylum procedures.

Streamlining the screening process and further expanding Eurodac, the EU’s migration database, to incorporate information gathered during screening is also an option under consideration.

This would give national authorities a more comprehensive record of people entering the EU’s migration system.

The Munich meeting, hosted by German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, comes only three months after the Pact began applying across the EU.

Around 18 countries, including EU member states and non-EU countries such as the UK, are expected to participate.

EU home affairs ministers will meet in Luxembourg next week to set the stage for EU leaders’ strategic discussion on migration at the next European summit in October.