In short: The EU Annual Migration Management Cycle is the yearly assessment the European Commission makes of the migration situation and of how support is shared between countries. The second cycle was launched on 6 November 2026 (the official page is dated 5 November): the Commission puts Spain under migratory pressure and proposes a second Solidarity Pool for 2027. That proposal is not public and not yet approved.
What changes for you today
Nothing. The decision is about support between EU countries and does not touch any residence or asylum procedure in Spain. How asylum procedures work today is in the guide New asylum procedures in Spain under the EU Pact, and how to apply is in Asylum in Spain: how to apply. Other Commission proposals from this autumn are in the plan against mass arrivals.
What happened
On 6 November 2026 the European Commission launched the second Annual Migration Management Cycle. Every year the Pact on Migration and Asylum requires the Commission to review the migration situation of the whole EU and of each country, and to propose how support is shared.
The second annual asylum and migration report says the new system is working. According to the Commission, irregular border crossings fell by more than one third in the first half of 2026, after falling by more than 50% in the previous two years. Asylum applications and secondary movements (travelling without permission to another EU country) also fell, and returns keep rising. The Pact now applies in full: the Eurodac database works in all countries, and most of them screen all irregular migrants and have the border procedure running. Work remains on the responsibility rules, meaning which country handles each application, and on transfers of applicants back to the responsible country.
On the basis of that report, the Commission set each country's level of pressure. Greece, Spain and Cyprus are under migratory pressure because of a disproportionate level of arrivals over the past year, and so is Italy, because of arrivals after sea rescues. Those four countries can access the Solidarity Pool, as long as the responsibility rules keep being applied. Fifteen other countries are listed as "at risk" of pressure, and six (Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Croatia, Austria and Poland) can ask for a full or partial cut in their contribution.
The Commission also proposed a second Solidarity Pool, for 2027. Under the Pact's rules, that proposal is not published.
How it works now
The Pact on Migration and Asylum has applied in Spain since 12 June 2026, with the procedures in the guide linked above. The first Solidarity Pool, this year's, is under way, according to the Commission.
What would change
Today the 2027 proposal is not public, so its size is not known. When the Council (EU governments) adopts its decision, each country's contributions will be made public and will be binding. Each country will be able to choose how to contribute: relocation of asylum applicants (moving them to another country), responsibility offsets, financial support, other measures or a mix. Because Spain is under migratory pressure, it could access that pool. What exactly it would receive will be set by that decision.
What happens next
The Council has to decide the size of the pool and how each country contributes. No dates have been given.
What you can do
- Nothing for now: there is no new procedure or deadline.
- If you have an asylum application or a decision in progress, check the deadlines in it and talk to an immigration lawyer: appeal an immigration refusal.
Official source: European Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, 5 November 2026.
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.