The EU Asylum and Migration Pact (the Pact) was adopted in 2024. The Pact contains 10 legislative tools that reform the European asylum and migration framework. EU Member States must apply the Pact from 12 June 2026. Further information and the texts of the regulations can be found on the website of the European Commission.
The following tools are particularly important for the CGRS:
- Asylum Procedures Regulation (2024/1348): applicable to applications filed and revocation procedures initiated from 12 June 2026 onwards;
- Qualification Regulation (2024/1347): applicable to all applications filed from 12 June 2026 onwards.
With a view to the application of the aforementioned tools, amendments will be made to the Act of 15 December 1980 regarding access to the territory, residence, settlement and the removal of foreign nationals (the Aliens Act) and to the Royal Decree of 11 July 2003 for regulating the workings of and the judicial procedures for the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons. On 6 March 2026, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved the submission to Parliament of a preliminary draft act amending the Aliens Act, partly to implement the Pact into Belgian legislation.
Below you will find the most important changes resulting from the Pact for the CGRS. It should be emphasized that the information below will only apply from 12 June 2026.
From 12 June 2026, the information on our website will be updated to reflect the new regulations and competences. The brochures will also be aligned with the changes introduced by the Pact.
Recording of the personal interview
The Asylum Procedures Regulation requires the audio recording of every personal interview conducted by the CGRS. This recording is an additional guarantee for the applicant for international protection.
All interview rooms will be equipped with high-quality recording equipment, intended solely for this purpose. For personal interviews in prisons and closed centres, secure mobile equipment will be used, which guarantees the same standards of quality and confidentiality.
The CGVS takes the necessary measures to ensure the confidentiality of the personal interview and the processing of personal data. The recordings are secured through encryption, secure storage and strictly limited access for authorized staff. Consultation by the applicant and/or his lawyer (possibly with an interpreter and guardian) takes place under strictly defined conditions. Further information will be available on the CGRS website.
Accelerated procedure
Under the Asylum Procedures Regulation, a decision must be taken by the CGRS according to the accelerated procedure within three months of the submission of the application for international protection. The accelerated procedure will also be applied on a larger scale, as Member States are obliged to process an application for international protection according to this procedure if one of the ten specified grounds for acceleration applies.
An important new ground for acceleration is that an application must be processed according to the accelerated procedure if the applicant comes from a third country for which the protection rate is 20% or lower, based on the latest available annual averages from Eurostat for the entire Union. This is unless the CGRS has identified significant changes since the publication of these data or the applicant belongs to a category of persons for whom the aforementioned protection rate is not representative.
Subsequent applications
In addition to applications submitted after an applicant has received a final decision in Belgium, this also includes ‘transnational subsequent applications’. These are applications for international protection submitted following a final decision in another Member State of the European Union.
Explicit and implicit revocations
The terminology used to describe the termination of the processing of an application is replaced by ‘implicit’ or ‘explicit’ revocation of the application. In the case of explicit revocation, the applicant himself indicates that he is renouncing his application for international protection. In the case of an implicit revocation, the processing of the application for international protection is ended because the applicant is supposed to have implicitly renounced his application.
The Asylum Procedures Regulation does not only strengthen the possibility of taking an implicit revocation decision, it also stipulates that the CGRS is responsible for taking an explicit or implicit revocation decision on the basis of findings by other competent authorities, for example the Immigration Office, before they have transferred the file.
‘Safe countries’ concepts
The Asylum Procedures Regulation expands the concepts of safe countries of origin and safe third countries and harmonizes them at EU level.
A binding EU list of safe countries of origin is introduced (applicable from 12 June 2026), which takes priority over the Belgian list, although there is room for a supplementary national list. Candidate countries for EU membership are also considered safe countries of origin, unless one of the following circumstances applies:
- an international or domestic armed conflict;
- EU sanctions against that country due to violations of fundamental rights;
- the rate of international protection granted by EU Member States to nationals of that country exceeding 20%.
For safe third countries, the area of application is broadened: a clear link with the third country is no longer always required, as mere transit or an agreement with a third country may be sufficient to declare an application inadmissible. The Asylum Procedures Regulation also contains the possibility of establishing an EU list of safe third countries, although this is not expected in the short term.
Age assessment
The Asylum Procedures Regulation stipulates that the CGRS is responsible for the age assessment of minor applicants when there is doubt regarding their age. In this regard, the Regulation contains a number of minimum conditions. For instance, in case of doubt based on statements and other indications, a multidisciplinary assessment must first be made, including a psychosocial assessment. The assessment must not be based solely on physical characteristics or behaviour, and a medical examination may only be used as a last resort. On the basis of the aforementioned minimum conditions, the CGRS has developed a high-quality age assessment procedure for applicants. Further information will be available later on the CGRS website.