Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy eligible for new help dealing with migration, EU says

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc’s pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

As part of the European Union’s migration reforms, member states must now decide how best to help via the mechanism, known as a “solidarity pool” – by offering to take in more migrants themselves, by providing more money to the four Mediterranean countries or by other measures.

The Commission said that while illegal border crossings had decreased by 35% in the period between July 2024 and June 2025, challenges remained.

“Greece and Cyprus are under migratory pressure due to the disproportionate level of arrivals over the last year. Spain and Italy are also under migratory pressure because of a disproportionate number of arrivals following search and rescue at sea in the same period,” it said.

The Commission also said Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Poland were at risk of migratory pressure and would get priority access to the bloc’s migration support toolbox.

Also on the issue of border security, the Commission said it would launch a 250 million euro ($291.55 million) tender to support the purchase of drone and anti-drone capabilities to help countries facing hybrid threats and drone incursions.

It said six member states, mostly in the EU’s eastern wing, would be able to seek a full or partial deduction from their contributions to the “solidarity pool” due to “the cumulative pressures of the last five years”.

($1 = 0.8575 euros)

(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Lili BayerEditing by David Goodman and Gareth Jones)