The European Commission on 11 November 2025 published its first annual management report on the forthcoming Pact on Migration and Asylum. In it, Brussels confirms that Italy—together with Greece, Cyprus and Spain—will qualify for the Pact’s “solidarity pool” once the legislation takes effect in mid-2026. The mechanism will allow frontline member-states facing a “disproportionate number of arrivals” to request relocations of asylum-seekers to other EU countries or receive targeted financial support. Italy has registered more than 150,000 sea arrivals so far this year, double the figure recorded five years ago, straining reception facilities in Sicily and Calabria.
To reinforce border surveillance, the Commission said it will launch a €250 million tender for the joint procurement of drone and anti-drone systems. The funds, taken from the Border Management and Visa Instrument, will be open to consortia of member-state authorities and private suppliers. Interior-ministry sources in Rome welcomed the move, stressing that the Guardia di Finanza’s air-sea division needs additional long-endurance UAVs to monitor small boats departing from Tunisia and Libya.
![EU earmarks solidarity funds and drone tech to help Italy manage high migrant arrivals]()
Under the solidarity pool, Italy may ask other EU governments either to relocate asylum applicants, pay a €20,000 contribution per applicant not relocated, or provide operational assistance such as Frontex officers. Migration-policy analysts point out that, unlike ad-hoc pledges in previous years, the new system will be legally binding and backed by infringement procedures if states refuse to share the load.
For corporate mobility managers, the announcement matters on two fronts. First, more predictable EU burden-sharing could ease political pressure on Italy to impose snap border checks that disrupt cross-border business travel—particularly along the Slovenian frontier, where controls have been re-introduced since June. Second, the Commission’s investment in surveillance technology may translate into faster processing at airports and seaports, as biometric exit/entry gates are rolled out alongside aerial monitoring tools.
That said, practical relief will not be immediate. The Pact is still being finalised in trilogue negotiations and will only bite from mid-2026. Companies sending staff to or through Italy should therefore continue to factor potential delays at Schengen land borders into travel policies for at least another 18 months.
To reinforce border surveillance, the Commission said it will launch a €250 million tender for the joint procurement of drone and anti-drone systems. The funds, taken from the Border Management and Visa Instrument, will be open to consortia of member-state authorities and private suppliers. Interior-ministry sources in Rome welcomed the move, stressing that the Guardia di Finanza’s air-sea division needs additional long-endurance UAVs to monitor small boats departing from Tunisia and Libya.
Under the solidarity pool, Italy may ask other EU governments either to relocate asylum applicants, pay a €20,000 contribution per applicant not relocated, or provide operational assistance such as Frontex officers. Migration-policy analysts point out that, unlike ad-hoc pledges in previous years, the new system will be legally binding and backed by infringement procedures if states refuse to share the load.
For corporate mobility managers, the announcement matters on two fronts. First, more predictable EU burden-sharing could ease political pressure on Italy to impose snap border checks that disrupt cross-border business travel—particularly along the Slovenian frontier, where controls have been re-introduced since June. Second, the Commission’s investment in surveillance technology may translate into faster processing at airports and seaports, as biometric exit/entry gates are rolled out alongside aerial monitoring tools.
That said, practical relief will not be immediate. The Pact is still being finalised in trilogue negotiations and will only bite from mid-2026. Companies sending staff to or through Italy should therefore continue to factor potential delays at Schengen land borders into travel policies for at least another 18 months.
