European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen delivered the State of the Union speech on 10 September in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The main points about EU policies relating to migration and asylum are set out below:
- Next EU Multiannual Financial Framework: “This is why we have proposed to treble funding for migration and border management in the next budget. So that we can manage migration effectively and protect our external borders.”
- Return: “We must be serious about returning rejected asylum seekers to their home countries. We cannot have a situation where only 20 percent of those who are not allowed to stay actually leave Europe. We therefore need to agree quickly on the Common European System for Returns.”
- Pact on Migration and Asylum: “And we must also ensure that we fully implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum as soon as it enters into force. The pact is strict but fair. And it will only work if everyone plays their part.”
- People smugglers and -traffickers: “We must work together with social media platforms to put an end to the online organisation and online advertising of smuggling operations. We must work more closely with airlines, especially on problematic routes such as those to Belarus. (…) And we need a new system of sanctions specifically targeted at people smugglers and traffickers.”
In a letter of intent sent to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on 10 September, von der Leyen also summarised the EC’s priorities for the coming year. Under the heading of ‘Defence and security’ she listed the following initiatives:
- Eastern Flank Watch initiative
- Roadmap for European Defence Readiness and European Defence Semester
- Amendment of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation
- New rules on fighting organised crime and new sanctions regime for targeting smugglers and traffickers
- Revision of the Europol Regulation
She also listed ‘Pact for the Mediterranean’ under the ‘Global Europe’ heading.
ECRE has raised concerns about a number of measures that have been implemented during the first year of the Von der Leyen Commission II, including:
- Return reform: In June 2025, ECRE published a comments paper on the March 2025 proposal for a Return Regulation.
- Migration agreements with third countries: In June 2025, ECRE published the first AIDA Country Report on Egypt which covered, inter alia, the EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership that was signed in March 2024.
- “Safe country” concepts: In July 2025, ECRE published a policy note on the proposed reforms to the Asylum Procedures Regulation relating to the creation of an EU-wide list of “safe countries of origin”, the “frontloading” of provisions for designating countries as safe and the application of accelerated and border procedures, and the revision of the definition of “safe third countries”.
In addition, ECRE has regularly reported on the EC’s failure to address member states’ breaches of EU law (for examples, see ECRE Weekly Bulletin and ELENA Legal Update articles on Greece, Italy and Poland).
The full text of the State of the Union 2025 speech is available here and the letter of intent is available here.
All ECRE publications are available here.