Fact check: Is the EU fining member states that don't accept migrants?

After years of negotiations between EU member states, the new Pact on Migration and Asylum has finally come online.

The package, adopted in May 2024 and which officially entered into force on 12 June, is designed to strengthen border procedures and reform the bloc's asylum system.

The regulation has been a prime target for false and misleading claims.

One of its most debated elements is a new solidarity mechanism intended to support member states facing the highest migratory pressure: in recent years, countries such as Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Spain have received the largest numbers of migrants and asylum seekers arriving by land and sea.

Several politicians from France's far-right National Rally party have criticised the migration pact, claiming it would allow the EU to fine countries that refuse to accept migrants.