European Agenda on Migration

New strategies on migration and EU visa make borders more secure and encourage talent mobility

Published

1 month ago

February 6, 2026

The European Commission has presented a new five-year strategy on migration. It will help guide future EU work on asylum and migration with concrete priorities, notably sustaining the reduction in illegal arrivals, while at the same time encouraging legal pathways to the EU. Both are needed for the migration and asylum system to work and our societies and economies to thrive.

True to the European values of creating a system that is fair and firm and rooted in the respect of fundamental rights, the strategy sets out the way forward on three objectives:

prevent illegal migration and break the business of criminal smuggling networks
to protect people fleeing war and persecution while preventing abuse of the system
to attract talent to the EU to boost the competitiveness of our economies

To achieve this, the strategy identifies five priorities:

Stronger cooperation on migration: The EU will work more closely with other countries to ensure migration is managed effectively and people’s rights are protected. This includes stepping up the global fight against migrant smuggling.
Strong EU borders to enhance control and security: The EU aims to better control who enters its territory by strengthening border management. This includes the roll-out of the Entry/Exit System (EES) and the new European Travel Information Authorisation System (ETIAS), to create the world's most advanced digital border management system.
A firm, fair and adaptable asylum and migration system: The Commission will help EU countries in implementing the new rules with dedicated country teams and assist countries under migratory pressure, in line with the Pact’s solidarity principle.
More effective return and readmission: The EU will improve how people without the right to stay are returned, ensuring the process is fast, effective and dignified. This includes building a common system for return and improving readmission by third countries.
Attracting workers and skills: To stay competitive, the EU is attracting talent from around the world. It will expand existing and launch new Talent Partnerships and make it easier and faster to recognise foreign qualifications and skills.

The strategy also promotes the full use of digitalisation and artificial intelligence in asylum and migration management. This will help improve the quality and timeliness of decision-making, as well as enhance security, while offering better services to people.

At the same time, the Commission has put forward the EU’s first-ever visa strategy. The visa strategy works on three key areas:

Stronger security: The EU will modernise how visa-free travel is granted and monitored, strengthen monitoring of existing visa-free regimes, introduce possible targeted restrictive visa measures when needed, and strengthen travel document security.
Boosting prosperity and competitiveness: New measures will make the EU more attractive to skilled workers, and make legitimate travel easier, and more predictable. This includes new digital procedures for both visa-free and visa required travellers and multiple-entry visas with a longer validity for trusted travellers.
Modern visa tools: The EU will make its visa and border IT systems interoperable by 2028. This will allow authorities to check multiple databases at once and through a single, central search, improving information-sharing and preventing visa abuse.