What the Commission is doing
The Commission is developing a common migration and asylum policy to manage the refugee crisis. It will help Europe both to take advantage of the opportunities and to tackle the challenges of increased cross-border mobility. This involves:
- Protecting those in need of shelter
- Curbing irregular migration
- Saving lives at sea and securing the EU’s external borders
- Guaranteeing free movement of people within the Schengen area
- Better organisation of legal migration
- Better integration of non-EU nationals into EU societies
Objectives
- Ensure all EU countries fully implement the Common European Asylum System (CEAS)
- Reduce the incentives for irregular migration, fight smuggling and increase the effectiveness of return policies
- Protect our external borders better, thanks to increased funding and a more prominent role for the European border agency Frontex
- Safeguard the functioning of the internal border‑free Schengen zone
- Promote legal migration of persons with skills needed in Europe
- Cooperate more closely with non-EU countries to smooth repatriation of irregular migrants
See what other EU institutions are doing on Migration, asylum and borders
Key initiatives
Frontex - European Border and Coastguard Agency
Agency for management of cooperation at the EU's external borders.
European Agency for large-scale IT systems (eu-LISA)
Continuously supporting Member States effort through technology for a safer Europe.