Von der Leyen’s asylum pivot risks institutionalizing border pushbacks

The proposal emerges as the European Union grapples with mounting pressure from nationalist parties across the bloc. With the AfD’s recent gains in Saxony-Anhalt and far-right surges in France and Italy, migration has once again paralyzed EU legislative machinery. Catherine Woollard, an adjunct professor at the Brussels School of Governance, warns that member states are engaged in a concerted effort to erode, undermine, and potentially destroy the core principle of asylum protection.

Despite a statistical decline in arrivals—driven largely by regional shifts in Afghanistan and the stabilization of Syria—the Commission appears increasingly willing to accommodate national demands for stricter border controls. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has already championed emergency measures to halt applications, while the European People’s Party is weighing proposals to abolish subsidiary protection status. These maneuvers suggest that the EU’s existential fear of losing the Schengen zone is overriding its long-standing commitment to human rights standards.