Finland prepares for application of EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

The Ministry of the Interior has set up a project to prepare the necessary legislative amendments to implement the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum in Finland.

The new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum will help the EU improve the control and identification of third-country nationals crossing external borders and increase the efficiency of asylum and return procedures. The Pact also puts in place a system of solidarity, in which no Member State is left alone under migratory pressure. It is up to the Member States themselves to decide whether to provide financial contributions or expert support, or whether to accept relocated asylum seekers from a Member State that needs assistance.
 
The Pact contains 10 legislative acts that entered into force on 11 June. They will mainly become applicable in mid-2026.
 
Most of the legislative acts of the Pact are regulations that are directly applicable in the Member States. For this reason, the legislative project will identify overlaps with national legislation and propose that such legislation be repealed. Most of the required amendments concern the Aliens Act.
 
The legislative acts of the Pact also contain some national room for manoeuvre, especially in the examination of asylum applications and appeals. This requires both new national legislation and amendments to existing legislation.

Objectives of the Government Programme to be taken into account

The Government is seeking to establish an asylum policy that will allocate assistance to the most vulnerable people and prevent abuses. This policy will be brought up to the general Nordic standard. To this end, the legislation under preparation will introduce all the new restrictions allowed by the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. 
 
Assistance will be primarily provided to the most vulnerable people in their regions of origin. The use of the asylum mechanism based on crossing European borders and applying for asylum in Finland will be minimised. The aim is to prevent abuses of the asylum system and tighten the asylum policy, including the departures or removals of rejected asylum seekers. Taking into account the objectives of the Government Programme, the legislative amendments to be prepared in the project also aim to seek savings.
 
The government proposal or proposals will be submitted to Parliament at the latest at the beginning of 2026 so that the legislative amendments can enter into force in summer 2026.
 
The legislative amendments required by the revised Reception Conditions Directive will be made in a separate project to reform the Reception Act, which was launched by the Ministry of the Interior in July.

Implementation requires action by several authorities

On 12 June, the Commission adopted the Common Implementation Plan for the Pact on Migration and Asylum to help the Union and its Member States prepare for the implementation of the legislative acts. The work has started with needs assessments in which each Member State has examined the need for changes.  Member States will submit their own implementation plans to the Commission in December.
 
There is a lot of work to be done in the implementation, both at the legislative and operational level. The work requires action from all authorities involved in Finland's asylum and return procedures.

A uniform system has been under preparation for years

The EU migration and asylum policy aims to find sustainable solutions to the challenges created by migration. The asylum systems of the Member States should be as uniform as possible to put the common policy in practice.
 
The Common European Asylum System has been gradually constructed over a long period, and the Member States’ practices are already largely based on EU legislation. However, the years of crisis in 2015 and 2016, in particular, revealed weaknesses in the System.
The new rules will help manage arrivals in an orderly way and create efficient and uniform procedures.
 
Inquiries:
Sanna Montin, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 488 314, firstname.lastname@gov.fi
Berit Kiuru, Chief Specialist, tel. +358 295 488 283, firstname.lastname@gov.fi