What we work on

The Artificial Intelligence Act regulates the use of artificial intelligence in the European Union, across fields, including migration. 

The final text, adopted in April 2024, fails to protect people in migration and racialised groups from harmful uses of AI. We denounced such harms in press releases and joint statements. 

The Anti-Trafficking Directive sets out measures to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings and to protect its victims. The European Commission proposed a revision in December 2022, which was adopted in May 2024. 

The revised text fails to tackle the root causes of trafficking and fails to protect and empower victims. Our position on this revision can be found in this joint statement.  

The funds of the European Union are structured in the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework, that allocates resources to different programmes, including for the social inclusion of third-country nationals. We have denounced failures and highlighted opportunities in various joint reports with the European Council on Refugees and Exiles. 

The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum is a policy document that sets out the EU’s agenda on migration for the years to come and a package of legislative proposals and recommendations. The Pact was adopted in April 2024. 

We unpacked the Pact in this FAQ, and highlighted overall concerns in this brief. We also analysed risks of rights violations linked to immigration detention, pushbacks, child rights and access to national permits.  

Screening Regulation

The Screening Regulation introduces a ‘pre-entry’ screening of third country nationals at the EU’s external borders.

Asylum Procedures Regulation

The Asylum Procedures Regulation establishes a common procedure for international protection in the European Union.

Regulation on Asylum and Migration Management

The Regulation on Asylum and Migration Management aims at replacing the current Dublin Regulation and introducing rules on responsibility sharing for examining international protection applications.

Crisis Regulation

The Crisis Regulation  provides specific derogations to the asylum rules in situations of crisis, risk of crisis or force majeure.

Recast Return Directive

The Recast Return Directive defines common standards and procedures in Member States for deporting third-country nationals in an irregular situation.

Eurodac

The Eurodac Regulation establishes a database of biometric data for identifying third-country nationals or stateless people in an irregular situation and for law enforcement purposes.

The 2022 European Care Strategy is a non-binding policy document that aims to strengthen long-term care and early childhood education and care. 

We published joint recommendations on migrant care workers and on early-childhood education and care. 

The European Child Guarantee is a non-binding policy document aiming to prevent and combat social exclusion of children, including undocumented children, by guaranteeing effective access to a set of key services. These are free early childhood education and care, free education, free healthcare, healthy nutrition, and adequate housing. The Guarantee was adopted as a Council Recommendation in 2021. Member states have developed national action plans to implement it until 2030. 

We highlighted promising openings for undocumented children in the Council Recommendation, and mapped obstacles and opportunities in early childhood education and care at the national level. 

The 2023 proposal for a revised Facilitation Directive is meant to fight “migrant smuggling” but will likely increase widespread criminalisation of migration and solidarity instead. The draft Directive is currently being negotiated by the EU Council and the European Parliament.

The Forced Labour Products Ban is a draft regulation to ban products made with forced labour from the EU’s internal market. But this regulation leaves out prevention of forced labour in the first place, and remedies for migrant workers affected by forced labour.

The 2011 Istanbul Convention is a human rights treaty of the Council of Europe that aims to combat violence against women and domestic violence. The EU is bound by this Convention since October 2023, but only as regards matters falling under its exclusive competences. 

The 2003 Long Term Residents’ Directive defines conditions concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents in the European Union. The European Commission proposed a revision in 2022, but the Council unilaterally stopped negotiations in 2024. 

Our recommendations for the revision can be found here. 

The 2016 Schengen Borders Code defines the rules governing border controls at the internal and external borders of the Schengen area. Its revision entrenches racial profiling and pushbacks at the internal borders, and was adopted in May 2024. 

We coordinated a joint civil society statement on the revision, and further highlighted risks of racial profiling in the 2023 political deal. 

The Single Permit Directive sets out a single application procedure for both residence and work permits for third-country nationals and defines a common set of rights for third-country workers regularly residing in the European Union. Its revision mitigates workers’ dependence on employers, and was adopted in April 2024. 

We published a joint statement on the revision in 2023, and highlighted promising aspects in a press release around its final adoption. 

The Victims’ Rights Directive sets out minimum rights and standards for protection for victims of crime in the European Union. The European Commission proposed a revision in July 2023, which is currently being negotiated by the European Parliament and the EU Council. 

We highlighted promising openings and shortcomings of the proposed revision and criticised the Council’s position in a joint statement. 

The Violence against women Directive foresees provisions to combat violence against women and domestic violence. The final text, adopted in May 2024, fails to protect undocumented women from immigration enforcement should they report violence and abuse to police.