The mechanism of European solidarity, announced on June 11, 2022, while France held the presidency of the Council of the European Union, was aimed at helping countries at the EU’s external borders, like Italy and Greece.

The initial objective was to redistribute 8,000 asylum seekers throughout Europe. A year later, according to figures obtained by Infomigrants, the results of this solidarity system are mixed.

Since last June when the mechanism was implemented, 1,457 relocations (32 transfers, in total) took place from the group of Mediterranean countries known as the MED 5 – Cyprus, Spain, Greece, Italy and Malta, to Germany, France, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Romania, Finland, Portugal and Croatia.

“We see that the mechanism never took off in the sense that the figures are still well below what had been announced in terms of objectives,” said Camille Le Coz, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute.

The European Commission defended the mechanism through a spokesperson who said a “significant number of commitments have been made, especially by Germany and France” and “other relocations were being prepared.” The Commission added that “all the participating countries have agreed to continue implementing the mechanism, in order […] to respect their commitments [8,000 relocations].”

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Limited solidarity

The relocation scheme, like previous schemes of its kind, faced national political obstacles as soon as it was begun. “The reception was different depending on the country. Some nations, like Belgium, the Netherlands or even France, already have saturated reception centers and do not necessarily have the capacity to welcome any more migrants,” said Le Coz.

Solidarity was also limited on a European level. In 2015, the first treaty instituted during the migration crisis required member states of the European Union to participate. Following difficulties with the scheme adopted last June, only voluntary states contributed because “some countries did not want to participate.” The Visegrad countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), which customarily oppose solidarity mechanism schemes, resisted the most.

“It was complicated to require states to participate when others refused,” said Le Coz. “Instead of wasting a lot of time trying to involve the reluctant nations in the scheme, I think it’s more productive to go forward with the countries which want to participate.”

Once the commitment of 8,000 relocations has been respected, a new agreement will probably not be signed. Even Italy, which has benefited from “nearly two-thirds” of relocations and which is “the main recipient of European funds allocated for migration” does not wish to continue along this path, according to European Commissioner Johannes Hahn.

“Italy does not support a relaunch of the relocation mechanism in view of the failure of the EU migrant deal signed by the previous government last June and the financial compensation, deemed unsuccessful,” the Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi has said.

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According to the interior ministry, more than 50,000 migrants arrived in Italy in the first five months of the year, compared with fewer than 20,000 in 2022 during the same period. The Italian authorities are more interested in “initiatives aimed at blocking departures and increasing repatriations” rather than relocating, the ministry added.

A new pact on migration and asylum

The European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on this, saying the Commission aims to use the lessons learned from the mechanism for the ongoing negotiations on the reform of migration and asylum policy.

European interior ministers succeeded in reaching a preliminary agreement on June 8 in view of reforming the European Union’s asylum policy. The Commission plans a return to “a system of required solidarity in the new pact on migration and asylum.”

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The Commission aims for more flexibility in its future scheme. “Member States will be able to decide on solidarity measures. These can vary between relocation, financial and operational support,” a spokesperson told Infomigrants. The Commission thus hopes to convince the most reluctant members of the EU, such as Hungary or Poland.

According to the agreement, EU countries that refuse to host refugees would be required to pay a sum of €20,000 ($21,000) per person into a fund managed by Brussels. This sum would be paid to a fund managed by the Commission and intended to finance projects linked to managing migration.