The Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation: Towards future-proof crisis management and responses?

Policy Study

In recent years, the EU has more than once been confronted with emergencies that have se­verely impacted national asylum and reception systems. Especially after the mismanagement of the rise in irregular arrivals in 2015-2016, the EU’s lack of preparedness and capacity to respond to such situations could no longer be ignored.

The reforms adopted in the context of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum seek to strengthen the EU’s resilience in the face of possible future crises. The Crisis and Force Majeure Regulation establishes a procedure for determining whether a member state faces an emergency and defines which response should be initiated.

This policy study explores the strengths and blind spots in the authorising procedure, the potential impact of the measures foreseen in response to an emergency, as well as the coor­dination mechanisms to be used. The study’s overarching question is whether the EU will be better prepared for future crises after the adoption of the New Pact reforms.

The policy study highlights that the EU is potentially better off with a common framework, al­though the flexibility for facilitating crisis responses could come at the cost of legal certainty. The benefit of using the derogations foreseen by the Regulation also remains unclear. The study thus underlines the need for further operational, financial and policy measures to help strengthen the EU’s resilience to possible future emergencies.