The European Commission has launched its second Annual Migration Management Cycle, the yearly process under the Pact on Migration and Asylum that assesses the migration situation in every member state and sets out how the bloc shares the burden. The launch took place on 6 November, the Commission announced.

Four member states — Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain — were found to be under migratory pressure. Greece and Cyprus were listed because of a disproportionate level of arrivals over the past year, Italy because of arrivals following search and rescue operations at sea, and Spain in view of the overall situation, including the incident in Ceuta.

Fifteen further states were assessed as at risk of migratory pressure, among them Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Finland. Six more — Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Austria and Poland — face a significant migratory situation because of the cumulative effect of migration over the last five years.

The Commission also proposed a Solidarity Pool for 2027 to support the states under pressure. Under the Pact, other member states can contribute by relocating asylum seekers, providing funding, taking on responsibility offsets or other agreed measures. The Council will now decide the size of the pool and each country's contribution.

The accompanying annual report said illegal border crossings fell by more than a third in the first half of 2026, after falling by more than half in the previous two years, while asylum applications fell by 19 percent in 2025 and unauthorised movements by 22 percent. The Commission said the Pact, which has fully applied since June, is delivering results, with the new Eurodac system operational in all member states and screening and border procedures in use — though it warned that more work is needed on responsibility rules and transfers of asylum applicants.