Regulation 2024/1359 - Addressal of situations of crisis and force majeure in the field of migration and asylum - Main contents

Official Journal

of the European Union

EN

L series

2024/1359

22.5.2024

The Union, in constituting an area of freedom, security and justice, should ensure the absence of internal border controls for persons, frame a common policy on asylum and migration, external border control and returns, and prevent unauthorised movements between Member States, based on solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility between Member States, which is also fair towards third-country nationals and stateless persons and in full respect of fundamental rights.

A comprehensive approach is required, with the objective of reinforcing mutual trust between Member States, recognising that the effectiveness of the overall approach depends on all components being jointly addressed and implemented in an integrated manner.

The Union and its Member States could be confronted with migratory challenges that can vary greatly, in particular with regard to the scale and the composition of the arrivals. It is therefore essential that the Union be equipped with a variety of tools to respond to all types of situations. The comprehensive approach as outlined in Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), including through partnerships with relevant third countries, should ensure that the Union has at its disposal specific rules to manage migration effectively, in particular with regard to the triggering of a mandatory solidarity mechanism, and that all the necessary measures are put in place to prevent crises from happening. This Regulation sets out rules that are complementary to that approach as well as to the rules set out in Council Directive 2001/55/EC (5), which can be used at the same time.

Notwithstanding the putting in place of the necessary preventive measures, it cannot be excluded that a situation of crisis or force majeure in the field of migration and asylum arises due to circumstances beyond the control of the Union and its Member States. Such exceptional situations can include the mass arrivals of third-country nationals and stateless persons in the territory of one or more Member States, or a situation of instrumentalisation of migrants by a third country or a hostile non-state actor with the aim of destabilising the Member State or the Union, or a situation of force majeure in the Member State. In those circumstances, it is possible that the measures and flexibility provided under Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 and Regulation (EU) 2024/1348 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) are not sufficient to address such exceptional situations. Those exceptional situations are different from those in which a Member State faces a significant migratory situation due to the cumulative effect of arrivals on its well-prepared asylum, reception and migration system or where a Member State is under migratory pressure because of the scale of arrivals which, while not reaching the levels of mass arrivals, nevertheless creates disproportionate obligations on its well-prepared systems, and for which situations...