The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum comes into force on the 12 June 2026 - Part 1

The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum comes into force on the 12 June 2026 - Part 1

Published February 23, 2026

Introduction

The Pact was adopted by the European Parliament on the 10 April 2024 and by the Council of the European Union on the 14 May 2024.  The legislative instruments forming the Pact were published in the Official Journal and became EU law on the 11 June 2024. The new rules will come into force on the 12 June 2026, after a two-year transition period for preparation and national implementation.

Ten (10) legislative instruments

A quick look:

1    Directive (EU) 2024/1346 - Reception Conditions Directive (recast)

This Directive has not as yet been transposed into Maltese law.  It establishes the standards required for the reception of applicants for international protection. It determines minimum rules for housing and accommodation, material support, access to healthcare, access to education for minor persons, access to the labour market, special safeguards for vulnerable persons, detention conditions and relative safeguards.

2    Regulation (EU) 2024/1347 - Qualification Regulation

This Regulation sets uniform criteria across all Member States for who qualifies for asylum and international protection, aligns rights attached to protection status, such as residence permits, access to employment, education, and social benefits, reduces divergent recognition rates to limit “asylum shopping”, improves legal certainty for both applicants and authorities, and strengthens integration prospects, by making rights more predictable and comparable across Member States. Being a Regulation (not a Directive), it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

3    Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 - Asylum Procedures Regulation

This Regulation aims at uniform asylum procedures across the EU so that cases of a similar nature are treated in the same way in every Member State. APR is intended to hasten decision-making through clear deadlines and streamlined procedures, reducing long periods of uncertainty for applicants.  The Regulation brings in border procedures to manage arrivals more efficiently while maintaining safeguards.  It is intended to strengthen rule of law principles including the right to be heard and legal assistance. APR helps to make reduces secondary asylum outcomes more predictable and consistent across the EU. Being a Regulation (not a Directive) it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

4    Regulation (EU) 2024/1349 - Border Return Procedure Regulation

This Regulation creates a specific, fast-track return system at the EU’s external borders for people who applied for asylum through the border asylum procedure, and their request was rejected. Being a Regulation (not a Directive), it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

5    Regulation (EU) 2024/1350 - Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework Regulation

This Regulation creates a structured, coordinated EU system for a) resettlement by the transfer of refugees from third countries to EU Member States, and b) humanitarian admission, a similar procedure but more flexible criteria. The Regulation replaces ad hoc and voluntary resettlement schemes applied in the past with a predictable annual EU-level planning system. Being a Regulation (not a Directive), it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

6    Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 - The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation 

The AMMR replaces Dublin III (EU Reg 604/2013) and creates a permanent EU responsibility-sharing system so that frontline Member States are no longer left alone when arrivals increase.  Ad-hoc crisis measures are replaced with clear, predictable rules for asylum and migration management. Member States must either relocate asylum seekers, provide financial contributions, or offer operational support.  The Regulation strengthens coordination and planning through national migration strategies aligned at EU level. Being a Regulation (not a Directive) it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

7    Regulation (EU) 2024/1352 - “Alignment” / Consequential Amendments Regulation

Although technical in nature, the Regulation has its importance within the framework of the Pact as it amends a number of existing EU migration and asylum instruments to ensure legal consistency with the new rules brought in by the Pact. Being a Regulation (not a Directive), it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

8    Regulation (EU) 2024/1356 - The Screening Regulation

This  Regulation introduces mandatory pre-entry screening of all irregular arrivals at the external borders of the EU (including identity, security, and health checks), from the very start looks and identifies vulnerabilities, children, victims of human trafficking, or people with special needs, directs people swiftly either to asylum procedures, return procedures, or refusal of entry improves security and data consistency through systematic registration and checks in EU database, and enhances  independent oversight during screening.  The Regulation expressly stipulates that the Ombudsman has to be involved in the monitoring of the process. Being a Regulation (not a Directive) it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

9    Regulation (EU) 2024/1358 - The Eurodac (Recast) Regulation

This Regulation upgrades the EU biometric database, going beyond fingerprints to include more categories of migrants, lower age thresholds, and stronger law-enforcement access supports fair responsibility allocation, helping determine which Member State is responsible for examining an asylum claim, facilitates returns and migration management, by allowing data use for identifying people without legal stay, covers a wider group of persons, including those apprehended after irregular border crossings and people rescued at sea, and introduces more clear rules on access, retention periods, and oversight. Being a Regulation (not a Directive), it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

10    Regulation (EU) 2024/1359 - The Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation

This Regulation provides an EU-wide legal framework for emergency situations, such as mass influxes, humanitarian crises, or events beyond a Member State’s control, allows  temporary derogations from normal asylum and return rules, giving states flexibility while remaining within EU law, favours enhanced solidarity measures, including faster relocations or increased financial and operational support, ensures legal certainty and coordination, replacing improvised crisis responses with predefined procedures, and keeps in place fundamental rights safeguards, even when exceptional measures are applied. Being a Regulation (not a Directive), it will be directly applicable in Malta without the need for transposition on the 12 June 2026.

Implementation

The fair and reasonable implementation of the Pact will be under careful scrutiny especially balancing responsibility and solidarity among Member States while upholding European values and international protection rights.  The EU Commission has declared that once the legal instruments are in force, it will not keep back from commencing infringement proceedings against Member States who fail to meet their obligations. The success or otherwise of the Pact will be measured by whether it can both deliver a more equitable sharing of responsibilities among EU Member States and uphold commitments to protect those who seek refuge.