This timely edited collection offers a critical and multidisciplinary examination of the European Union's Migration and Asylum Pact, marking the third major reform phase of the Common European Asylum System.

As the EU seeks to present a unified and effective response to migration challenges, the Pact introduces sweeping changes-from border procedures and asylum processing to external partnerships and data-driven governance.

Bringing together leading scholars, legal practitioners, and NGO experts, the collection explores the Pact's implications ahead of its implementation. Contributors interrogate its legal foundations, political motivations, and operational mechanisms, offering insights into how the EU balances efficiency with fundamental rights, solidarity with sovereignty, and innovation with accountability.

Organised around four central themes - political solidarity, border management, external cooperation, and rights compliance - the volume highlights the tensions and contradictions within the Pact. It asks: Can the EU harmonise divergent national approaches to migration? Will faster procedures compromise legal safeguards? How will partnerships with third countries affect asylum seekers' rights?

With chapters covering topics such as AI at the border, the coloniality of digital technologies, and the role of EU institutions in enforcement and oversight, this book is an essential resource for academics, policymakers, lawyers, and students. It offers not only a critique but also a roadmap for understanding the future of asylum governance in Europe.

Romit Bhandari is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of East London, UK.
Michael Geary is Jean Monnet Professor in EU History at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Annalisa Meloni is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of East London, UK.
Jennifer Redmond is Associate Professor in Modern Irish History at Maynooth University, Ireland.