Clear rules for migration in Europe

What is new?  

Since 12 June 2026, the rules laid down in the reformed Common European Asylum System, or CEAS for short, have been in force in the European Union. This means that registration and asylum processes, responsibilities and border and returnprocedures are subject to new rules. As far as Germany is concerned, this means that national control of migration will be embedded to a greater extent within a common European framework.  

Why is the reform important for Germany?  

Germany has taken in many asylum seekers in recent years. According to a recent report by the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, Germany was home to around 2.7 million refugees and other international asylum seekers at the end of 2025 - the second-largest group in absolute terms after Colombia. Which just goes to show that Germany is facing up to its humanitarian responsibility. This is precisely why Europe needs reliable rules, fair allocation of responsibilities and effective control mechanisms.  

What is at the heart of the new rules?  

Europe is taking collective action to control migration. Anyone arriving at the EU’s external borders will be registered and screened in line with standardised procedures. These include identity, security and health checks. The idea is to establish more quickly who genuinely requires protection, which member state is responsible and who is not entitled to enter the bloc. This will make onward travel within Europe more difficult for irregular migrants - many of whom are heading to Germany.  

How are procedures at the EU’s external borders changing?  

Certain cases are to be screened more quickly: these include applicants from countries with a very low protection rate, applicants who mislead the authorities as to their identity and applicants who pose a security risk. Anyone not entitled to protection is to be returned immediately. This is intended to make the situation clearer.  

What is changing in Germany?  

Germany is situated at the heart of Europe and has mainly internal EU borders. External border procedures are in place where people enter the country from outside the Schengen area - such as at international airports. At Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, an asylum processing centre with 40 places for asylum seekers has gone into operation for the launch of CEAS. Germany is required to provide 374 places for external border procedures nationwide - including in Frankfurt am Main and Munich.  

Will the right to asylum remain in place?  

Yes. Those who are fleeing war or persecution will continue to have access to an asylum procedure. At the same time, procedures will become more binding, quicker and more standardised across Europe. The objective is to combine a humanitarian approach with orderly procedures: asylum for those entitled to it, but no incentive for irregular migration.  

How is European solidarity to be strengthened?  

Though the countries at the EU’s external borders will for the most part remain responsible for controlling migration, they will no longer be left to do so on their own. Other member states will support them by taking in refugees, providing funding or operational assistance or making other forms of compensation available. Germany believes firmly that solidarity and responsibility should be combined to a greater extent in future.   

What does CEAS mean for Germany’s land borders?  

The checks at Germany’s land borders will remain in place for a transitional period. They are intended to limit irregular migration and combat human trafficking. In the medium term, as protection of Europe’s external borders improves and registration and return procedures work better, the burden on the Schengen area should gradually ease again.  

What role is played by the so-called return hubs?  

Return hubs are intended to facilitate returns when persons who are required to leave the European Union cannot be deported directly back to their country of origin, for instance due to a lack of cooperation on the part of the authorities there. The idea is to set up such centres outside the EU, with European states entering into agreements with third countries.   

How does legal migration fit into this concept?  

CEAS is aimed primarily at asylum seekers, irregular migration and facilitating returns. Legal migration remains important - for example for work, training and the recruitment of skilled professionals. The political goal is orderly procedures, not isolation.  

Has there also been any criticism of CEAS?  

Human rights organisations and some members of the opposition have criticised CEAS, saying that the reform constitutes a significant tightening of European asylum law. Specific points of criticism include the threat of imprisonment at the EU’s external borders. Meanwhile, the German government stresses that this path to greater control does not mean the end of protection for international refugees.