In FRA’s last overview in May 2023 titled “Asylum and migration: Progress achieved and remaining challenges”, the Agency made five suggestions for dealing more effectively with the opportunities and challenges that migration brings, in compliance with fundamental rights. They related to saving lives, ensuring access to asylum, enhancing legal pathways for those in need of protection, better fundamental rights monitoring and investigating reported rights violations.

This bulletin, covering the period from January 2025 up to the end of March 2026, shows that in relation to these areas, significant fundamental rights challenges persist. Fatalities at sea continue, violence and summary returns at the external EU borders remain, and accountability mechanisms are still weak. Access to asylum is increasingly constrained, although the Pact should bring some improvements. There are more legal pathway options but in pure numbers, Europe resettles few refugees.

As regards other aspects, reception conditions vary greatly across Member States, with persistent gaps for vulnerable groups in some. Several countries are expanding detention powers, including for children, while alternatives to detention remain underused. Return policies have become more enforcement-driven, increasing risks of refoulement amid inconsistent monitoring. Labour migration reforms show mixed trends, with some Member States creating new pathways and others heightening exploitation risks. Family reunification rules have been tightened across the EU, creating growing obstacles for families to remain together.