Lower Thirds: 

0:02 	Report by Lucia Schulten
0:12 New EU migration scheme: Wil the bloc deliver on promises? 
0:18	Roberta Metsola - EU Parliament President speaking after approval of Migration and Asylum Pact 
( April 10,2024) 
0:45	Beppe Cacci - Mediterranea Saving Humans 
1:06 	Promise #1: Better external border control
1:54	Helena Hahn -  European Policy Centre 
2:16	Magnus Brunner - EU Internal Affairs Commissioner
2:38	Beppe Caccia - Mediterranea Saving Humans 
3:18 	Promise #2: No more internal border checks
3:38	Alexander Dobrindt - German Interior Minister
4:06	Helena Hahn - Migration Expert EPC
5:00 	Promise #3: Functioning solidarity among the member states
5:31 	Helena Hahn - Migration Expert EPC

6:10 	Promise #4: Migrants will be sent to "return hubs"
6:14	Lucia Schulten, DW Correspondent

Script: 

This is what the EU migration policy is often associated with: overcrowded reception centers, sometimes with dire living conditions, and lengthy procedures with complicated rules. But a new scheme coming into effect now to manage asylum applications is hoping to change all this.   
+++SOT+++  
Tag: April 10, 2024 
+++Roberta Metsola - EU Parliament President speaking after approval of Migration and Asylum Pact+++
"We promised a new system that is fair with those eligible for protection, that is firm with those who are not and that is strong against the traffickers and the networks preying on the most vulnerable of people. Tonight we have delivered that promise." 
 Yet some are skeptical the bloc can actually deliver on its promises.   
 +++Beppe Caccia+++Head of rescue operations+++
Mediterranea Saving Humans 
"We think that the migration pact of the European Union is in line with escalation in border violence and violation of the fundamental human rights." 
So what's going to change? We break down the main points.  
Text on Screen: Promise #1: Better external border control  
Visuals: Graphic Explainer 
According to the new scheme, every migrant arriving at the EU external border has to be screened. This includes preliminary health and vulnerability checks as well as security checks. The migrants are identified and registered in a database. Within seven days, a decision must be made whether the person is eligible for asylum — or could potentially face deportation.   
Eligible asylum seekers may also be subject to a so-called border procedure, especially if they come from a country with a low recognition rate for asylum. This entails being held in a detention facility at their first point of entry for up to 12 weeks while their application is being reviewed.  
Graphic OUT+++ 
We asked Helena Hahn, a migration expert at the European Policy Centre in Brussels, whether this can work.  
+++Helena Hahn+++Migrant expert+++European Policy Centre (EPC)  
Beyond a question of whether there is sufficient political will in order to comply by the rules, there's the big question of whether, in practice, member states are sufficiently prepared. 
+++Map in+++ 
In May, an EU Commission report flagged that around 10 member states needed to "urgently step up efforts to establish adequate capacity" for border procedures. EU officials say member states made significant progress since.  

+++Map out+++  
Tag: June 11, 2026  
+++Magnus Brunner+++EU Internal Affairs Commissioner+++  
“Are the member states ready? Mostly yes, I would say, but of course there are some gaps, some minor gaps in some member states on IT issues or on infrastructure.” 
The EU's migration chief also stressed that ensuring human rights standards according to international law was a "prerequisite" for the reform, but some are still concerned.  
+++Beppe Caccia+++Rescue Worker+++Mediterranea Saving Humans 
We can see that the new procedures of the European Union and of member states like Italy are clearly implementing mass pushbacks and possible mass deportation with no respect of proper evaluation of the single position and single conditions of risk for the asylum seekers. 
Text on Screen: Promise #2: No more internal border checks  
3:20 – 3:38 Insert: File  
In recent years, some EU countries reintroduced border checks within the bloc, citing irregular migration as one of the reasons. Some expect that with the implementation of the new scheme with its stricter external border controls, those measures would be lifted.  
But is this going to happen soon? 
+++SOT+++Alexander Dobrindt+++German Interior Minister+++ 
No. In the last few months, we have been able to see how effective our measures are in pushing back illegal migration. And it is precisely these successes that must not be jeopardized now. That is why it is still necessary for our measures to take effect. 
((Nein. Wir haben jetzt genau in den letzten Monaten feststellen können, wie wirkungsvoll unsere Maßnahmen sind beim Zurückdrängen der illegalen Migration. Und genau diese Erfolge, die darf man jetzt auch nicht gefährden. Deswegen ist es weiterhin auch notwendig, dass unsere Maßnahmen greifen.)) 
Germany and other European states want to prevent "secondary migration." This means stopping people who had arrived in one EU state from moving on to another one.  
+++SOT+++Helena Hahn+++Migration Expert EPC+++(00:09:01:11 - 00:09:30:18) 
There are a number of measures that aim to disincentivize onward movement. We can think about, for instance, detention, or we can think about stricter obligations on asylum seekers to remain where they are until their application is processed. But all of that, of course, exists on paper at the moment and doesn't necessarily mean that people may not still try to move onward. 
The German interior minister insists that the so-called Dublin rules have to work again before he fully lifts the border controls.  
+++Graphic IN+++ 
Under this principle, the country in which a person arrives remains responsible even if they move on to another EU state, and they can be sent back to that country from elsewhere in the bloc. 
+++Graphic OUT+++ 
This principle was deemed unfair by the countries at the EU's external border, but it is still in place under the new scheme — with an added new element: 	 
Text on Screen: Promise #3: Functioning solidarity among member states  
+++Graphic IN+++ 
The new pact includes what the EU calls "flexible solidarity." In the past, the bloc tried to force member states to take in a "fair share" of asylum seekers from countries at the external border.  
Now, mandatory relocation quotas are replaced with the option to instead contribute financially or operationally to aid the border member states. Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Spain would have access to this solidarity pool, as they are considered to be under "migratory pressure." 
+++Graphic OUT+++ 
+++SOT+++Helena Hahn+++EPC migration expert++++ 
A large number of member states are primarily interested in financial contributions or willing to make them. [Cut] But we also know, of course, at the end of the day, that countries such as Italy or Greece, who have in the past faced high arrival numbers, would benefit the most from relocations. Hungary has already indicated that it remains reluctant to take in migrants or pay. Other countries, like Poland, have already secured exemptions. 
Text on Screen: Promise #4: Migrants will be sent to "return hubs" 
+++PTC++Lucia+++ 
Right now, the European Union and its member countries are concentrating more on what they call the "external dimension of migration" — meaning they want to find a place where they can send rejected asylum seekers to once they are not allowed to stay in Europe anymore.  
Denmark is working together with the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Greece to set up these so-called "return hubs." The group wants to present first concrete results by the end of this year.