The Resurgence of the Far Right in Europe and the New Pact on Migration and Asylum

At the end of 2023, a preliminary agreement was reached on the Migration and Asylum Pact proposed three years earlier by the European Commission (EC). The proposed changes aim to renew and coordinate European Union (EU) policies on migration, border control and asylum. It comes against a background of growing public concern about the rise in irregular migration. In this context, there has been a significant increase in support for far-right formations across Europe, with strong anti-immigration and anti-refugee narratives. They are expected to make substantial gains in upcoming elections, including the European Parliament elections in June. This raises concerns about the direction in which the EU will develop.

In this analysis, Simona Nikolova examines the political impact of anti-migrant sentiment at national and European level, and considers the significance of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum in the context of a common EU migration policy.