The EU plans to tighten migration policy following the crisis in Ceuta
Kyiv • UNN
The European Commission is considering restricting the right to asylum, expanding Frontex’s powers, and funding migrant return centers.
The European Commission is preparing new measures to strengthen the EU’s migration policy amid the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta. The proposals include — restricting the right to asylum, expanding Frontex’s powers, and creating return centres. Euronews reports, according to UNN.
Details
Following the crisis in Ceuta, the European Commission is expected to further tighten its migration policy. Significant changes are planned for adoption in the coming months, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen could potentially announce them during her “State of the Union” address this week.
Despite a steady decline in the number of irregular border crossings and asylum applications in the EU since 2023, three new options are currently being considered to strengthen the bloc’s external borders and increase the number of returns of irregular migrants. Several EU officials, diplomats and Members of the European Parliament told Euronews about this.
These options are not mutually exclusive, and von der Leyen may ultimately decide to implement more than one of them.
Temporary suspension of the right to asylum
The most radical proposal currently under discussion envisages temporarily suspending asylum rules in cases of a sudden mass arrival of migrants.
This would mean that EU countries would no longer be obliged to examine asylum applications from people who entered their territory irregularly under circumstances similar to those observed in Ceuta.
Under the current rules, any foreign national present in an EU country has the right to apply for asylum, regardless of how they entered Europe. Their application must be assessed on an individual basis.
Some member states that have already introduced similar measures in recent years are calling for such a change.
In July 2025, Greece suspended for three months the processing of asylum applications from migrants arriving by sea from Libya. Since March 2025, Poland has had a similar ban in place for migrants crossing the border from Belarus.
More powers for Frontex
The European Commission’s desire to expand the powers and increase the size of the Frontex border agency is not new; however, according to an EU official, the events in Ceuta have given the issue fresh impetus.
In July 2024, during an address to the European Parliament following her re-election, von der Leyen promised to triple the staff of the EU’s border agency to 30,000 employees. Frontex is also to receive €12 billion under the EU’s next seven-year budget, twice as much as its previous funding.
A major reform of the agency’s powers is expected by the end of the year, although its details remain unclear for now.
"The changes could involve participation in the return of migrants, broader cooperation with third countries and a more active role in surveillance," a Frontex representative told Euronews, adding that a specific proposal would likely be presented in October.
Instead, the agency could be granted powers to deport irregular migrants to third countries that are not their countries of origin, in accordance with the new Return Regulation, which is due to be formally adopted in the autumn.
EU funding for return centres
The deportation centres envisaged by this regulation are another area in which the European Commission could take decisive action.
The legislation gives member states broad autonomy in determining agreements with third countries that are to host so-called "return centres." Five EU countries are already holding active negotiations with some partner countries, whose names have not been disclosed, with the aim of beginning deportations in 2026.
The current rules do not provide for EU financial participation in such agreements. National governments are expected to fully finance the centres’ operations, and may also provide partner countries with additional funding, establish commercial partnerships or offer other incentives.
The main new initiative could be a promise to finance such centers from the EU budget. The European Commission’s proposal provides for €74 billion to be allocated for migration management in 2028–2034.
"Most member states have expressed interest in such a project. The possibility of jointly financing such centers in the future cannot be ruled out," said an EU official, referring to a joint letter from June in which 19 EU countries endorsed "innovative solutions" aimed at reducing irregular migration flows.
In addition to the support of most member states, all three proposals are backed by the European People’s Party (EPP), which could make it easier for them to be approved by the European Parliament.
As has been the case with all migration-related legislative initiatives under the current legislation, the EPP may secure support for the changes through a majority formed by the votes of conservative right-wing and far-right members of the European Parliament.
At the same time, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and left-wing political groups are expected to oppose any decisions announced during the "State of the Union" address, as they have already sharply criticized the European Commission’s recent recommendations on migration policy.