BRUSSELS, 30 January 2026 – A seven-member delegation of the OSCE PA Ad Hoc Committee on Migration, led by Chair Farah Karimi (Netherlands) and joined by Secretary General Roberto Montella, concluded a two-day visit to Brussels yesterday with the aim to learn more about recent developments in European migration policy reform, focusing on implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and its expected impact on EU Member States as well as non-EU countries.
During the briefings, the interlocutors at the Commission outlined the key achievements in preparing for Pact implementation, including the designation of the EU Member States which are under migratory pressure and agreement on the ‘Solidarity Pool’ for 2026 consisting of support measures for these countries. Recurring topics included safeguards within the Pact to ensure compliance with human rights standards and the need to step up the fight against migrant smugglers and traffickers.
The new Return Regulation and rules for determining which ‘Safe Third Countries’ to which asylum seekers may be sent back were also high on the agenda, with steps towards laying the regulatory foundations for ‘return hubs’ in third countries being the subject of further discussions.
The Committee also had the opportunity to hear more about the new Pact for the Mediterranean launched last November which seeks to promote migration management as part of comprehensive efforts to create a connected, prosperous, resilient and secure common Mediterranean space from North Africa to the Middle East. The importance of strengthening partnerships with countries of origin and transit beyond the EU, as part of a whole-of-route approach was also emphasized.
Chair Karimi acknowledged the complexity and difficulty of the task of managing migration in these challenging times. At the same time, she stressed the key importance of enforcing the safeguards to ensure respect for the human rights of people on the move.
“What this visit made clear was the enormous complexity of the legislation, interdependencies in implementation at the technical, operational and political levels. Preparations within EU Member States are moving at different speeds. It therefore remains to be seen how successful the application of the Pact will be from June 2026 onwards,” Karimi stated. “Countries at the external borders of the EU have a huge task at hand in implementing the new border procedures in full respect of the human rights of migrants and refugees and international law.”
She added that it is essential to also have independent monitoring mechanisms at the national level and that respect for the fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers should be at the heart of any effective and sustainable migration framework.
Chair Karimi also stressed the importance of rigorous and honest implementation of the permanent solidarity mechanism and the Union resettlement regulation.
The Committee will continue to follow implementation of the EU Migration Pact as well as EU efforts to step up the fight against human smuggling as part of its new long-term migration management strategy as this is a key component of effective and sustainable migration policies.
From 28-29 January, the OSCE PA delegation met with key stakeholders at the European Commission, including Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, and colleagues at the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG-HOME), the Directorate-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG-MENA), and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). The delegation also engaged in policy discussions with UNHCR, IOM, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the Migration Policy Institute Europe (MPI).
This is the fourth time that the Committee has travelled to Brussels for migration policy dialogues. This latest visit is part of its initiative to focus on implementation of the EU Migration Pact; the practical steps which need to be taken by EU Member States to ensure effective, timely and coherent implementation from June 2026 onwards; and how parliamentarians can contribute to this process.
The Committee will report on its visit to the OSCE PA Standing Committee in Vienna in February 2026.
Alongside Chair Karimi and Secretary General Montella, the delegation included Vice-Chairs Kemal Çelik (Türkiye) and Alessandro Alfieri (Italy); and members Kyriakos Hadjiyianni (Cyprus); Artemi Vicent Rallo (Spain); Özgül Saki (Türkiye); and Angelos Syrigos (Greece).
Photos of the visit are available for public use on Flickr.
To learn more about the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Migration, please click here.
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly