Overview
- The new common European asylum system (GEAS) legally entered into force on 12 June 2026 and requires systematic screenings, biometric checks and expedited border procedures for irregular arrivals.
- Germany has already opened an external-border centre at Berlin Brandenburg Airport and several Länder are piloting transfer or secondary-migration centres while Greece readies coastal and island reception facilities.
- EU officials and Frontex warn rollout will be uneven because many frontline states lack trained staff and dedicated reception and processing centres, leaving procedures untested in practice.
- Frontex data point to a sharp rise in crossings on the Libya–Crete route, which officials say will put continued operational and geopolitical pressure on the new system and on rescue operations at sea.
- Human-rights groups and legal experts say GEAS expands powers to hold arrivals in closed facilities and speed returns, raising worries about detention conditions, access to lawyers and likely litigation as member states apply the rules differently.