The European Union is implementing a new migration and asylum pact taking effect this Friday. This overhaul of immigration policy, which has been a decade in the making, governs how the 27 member states will handle irregular migration and asylum seekers.
The new rules, enacted after months of political wrangling, introduce stricter border controls and increased deportations. The reform also allows member states to reduce protections for asylum-seekers.
The changes come as EU countries face pressure from far-right nationalist parties and a hardening of public opinion on migration. Right groups have warned that politics are now taking priority over humanitarian concerns. In the run-up to the overhaul, EU migration chief Magnus Brunner spoke about migration with Pope Leo, a defender of liberal asylum policies.