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
Political prioritiesTopicsCommissionerDepartments