THE NETHERLANDS | Poldershop on EU migration pact

Several ombudsmen and their staff gathered in Brussels on 5 and 6 February 2025 in a Poldershop to discuss the migration pact that has to be implemented in the European Union by the summer of 2026. 

Poldershop on EU migration pact

The Pact on Migration and Asylum (migration pact) is a set of new rules managing migration and establishing a common asylum system in the European Union (EU). The migration pact consists of 10 new or revised EU laws. On 14 May 2024 the pact was adopted, and the Member States have two years in which to implement the Pact in full.

Opportunity

This means that in the summer of 2026 all national ombuds institutions in the European Union will be confronted with the effects of the implementation of the migration pact. In the time running up to that moment, ombuds institutions will be in a unique situation where they can discuss amongst themselves national developments on migration. This opportunity should not be missed as it allows to identify before the coming into effect, what could be challenges and what moments of influence they might have.

Poldershop

The IOI European Regional president, Reinier van Zutphen, chose the Poldershop format to discuss with a small group of colleagues and staff, the implications of the migration pact. The Federal Ombudsmen of Belgium, David Baele and Jérôme Aass, were so kind as to host this event in their office in Brussels. There were further participants from Lithuania, Greece, Estonia, Belgium, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, the Netherlands and the European ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly also took part. The Poldershop format is an informal non-hierarchical way of sharing knowledge and expertise. And is also a setup in which all kinds of questions and challenges can be openly brought to the table. There is no set agenda and there are no speakers. The open framework allows for a safe and open discussion amongst participants.

Five topics

In this case the Poldershop looked at what part of the migration pact is most likely to be relevant for the work of ombuds institutions. From the discussion there were five topics that the participants thought worthwhile to further pursue. First and foremost is the Fundamental Rights Monitoring Mechanism. The creation of this new structure will directly effect the ombuds institutions. The other topics that were identified were the care of (unaccompanied) minors, the provision of legal aid, the push backs at the borders and the interpretation of the directives.

Monitoring Mechanism

Under the new asylum and migration rules, EU countries need to set up adequate mechanisms to monitor fundamental rights compliance when screening new arrivals and assessing asylum claims at the EU’s external borders. National ombudspersons and national human rights institutions, including national preventive mechanisms under the United Nations (UN) Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture (OPCAT), should participate in the operation of the mechanism and should be prioritised when considering who to appoint for the monitoring. It was discussed how this would impact day to day work and what it would mean for the broadening of the mandate of the institutions.

After identifying the five topics the participants agreed to continue the discussion and share with others the thoughts and outcome of their discussion and explore how best to continue, not only for this group but for all ombuds institutions that will be confronted with the new migration pact.

Source: The Office of the National Ombudsman of the Netherlands and President of the IOI European Region