A much-anticipated reform of the European Union's asylum system entered into force on Friday, after years of negotiation as the issue came to dominate the political agenda.
The new rules follow a decade of debate, triggered by a sharp rise in migrant numbers across Europe from 2015-2016, when millions of people fled to the EU from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
The surge in arrivals led to stricter immigration policies in many EU countries, fuelled by a rise of far-right populist parties across much of the bloc.
The ensuing tightening of migration rules, known as the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), aims to improve procedures at Europe's external borders to prevent asylum seekers from moving on within the EU, for example by travelling from Greece or Italy to Germany.
Specifically, border procedures are intended to enable faster asylum decisions and more consistent deportations. People with little prospect of a positive asylum ruling are to go through such an accelerated procedure, which has a maximum duration of 12 weeks.
During that time, they may be required to remain in special reception centres set up primarily by EU countries at the external border.
The measure is intended to prevent secondary migration, whereby asylum seekers move independently to another EU country after being registered for the first time in one member state.
At the same time, the states at the EU's external borders are not to be left alone to cope with large numbers of refugee arrivals. What is known as a solidarity mechanism is intended to distribute the burden among member states. It provides for support through financial contributions, contributions in kind or the transfer of asylum seekers.
German minister welcomes new rules
It remains to be seen whether the new rules result in fewer people seeking protection in Europe. However, German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt expressed optimism in an interview with ZDF TV show Morgenmagazin.
"From now on, we will see that many things that haven’t been working so far will work again," said Dobrindt, a member of Bavaria's conservative CSU party.
The system is functional, he said, "but whether every country gets everything 100% on the very first day that remains to be seen."
Hakan Demir, from Germany’s Social Democrats, said it is important not to make the mistake of measuring the success or failure of the new system by whether the number of asylum seekers rises or falls.
That depends more on external issues, such as whether there is peace in Ukraine or the degree of oppression experienced daily by people in Afghanistan, he said.
For now, Germany is not required to make any payments to the newly established solidarity pool, as it accepted a large number of asylum seekers who should have been the responsibility of other member states.
Entry into force 'a marathon, not a sprint'
The European Commission sought to temper expectations weeks before the asylum reform took effect.
June 12 marked not the end, but rather the beginning of the implementation of the new rules, the commission said.
EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner reiterated in recent days that not everything would work perfectly from the start.
In early May, an EU report noted that there was still a shortage of staff and specialized reception centres for asylum procedures in countries such as Greece, Italy or Bulgaria, where the majority of irregular border crossings occur.
The border procedures are considered a crucial component of efforts to keep asylum seekers in the EU country where they first registered.
But whether those countries receive sufficient support under the new rules remains to be seen, according to experts.
Migration expert Maximilian Pichl doubted that the pact will hold. True solidarity, he says, is demonstrated above all by taking in asylum seekers.
Hardly any countries have been willing to do so, said Pichl, a researcher at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.
