Only 14 EU Member States have submitted their National Implementation Plans for migration management by the 12 December deadline. Poland, Italy, and Hungary are among the countries yet to comply, with Poland explicitly unwilling to submit its plan. The plans are part of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, a reform adopted in May 2024 to overhaul migration policies.
National Implementation Plans outline each country’s approach, timeline, and costs for adapting to the new rules. Despite the deadline, almost half of the plans are still missing. A European Commission spokesperson confirmed, “We remain in contact with Member States and are assisting the remaining ones to submit their plans soon.” The Commission has warned it may take proportional measures against non-compliant countries, considering the upcoming submissions and the broader context of the Pact’s implementation by mid-2026.
Polish Resistance and Migration Pact Controversies
Poland’s government, led by Donald Tusk, refuses to submit its plan, citing issues with the Migration Pact. A government source said Poland views the pact as incomplete and prefers focusing on securing its eastern border, where irregular crossings from Belarus persist. Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak welcomed a recent European Commission decision supporting Poland’s border protection measures, including a temporary suspension of the right to asylum.
Poland opposes relocating 30,000 asylum seekers under the pact and objects to the alternative options: paying €20,000 per rejected person or funding operational support. Warsaw and Hungary attempted to block the legislation during Council negotiations. Frontex reported 16,530 irregular crossings at the Eastern Land border in 2024, with 14,000 of these being Ukrainian nationals under temporary EU protection. Data from the European Agency for Asylum showed Poland received 9,519 asylum applications in 2023. Poland remains steadfast in its resistance to the Pact’s provisions, arguing for a focus on regional challenges over broader EU mandates.
