BAKGRUNN (fra kommisjonsrapporten, engelsk utgave)

In the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, adopted in October 20081, the European Council made five basic commitments on legal immigration and integration, illegal immigration, border controls, asylum, and partnership with countries of origin and transit (Global Approach).

This is the Commission's 1st Annual Report on the implementation of the Pact. It will contribute to preparing the European Council’s annual debate on immigration and asylum policies.

Section 2 summarises and assesses developments at EU and national levels2 and presents recommendations, looking in turn at each of the five areas of the Pact. Given that this will be an annual exercise, the recommendations highlight points which the Commission considers need particular attention over the coming year. The commitments in the Pact will also be developed under the Stockholm Programme3 and its Action Plan.

The reporting period is from October 2008 to end 2009. The economic crisis was a major factor, so section 3 looks at its effects on migration. Section 4 touches on the methodology for this report, followed by the conclusions. An annexe presents key statistics.