ENS Briefing APPLYING the statelessness provisions in the EU pact on migration and asylum May 2026 Key takeaways This briefing takes stock of progress towards implementation of the Pact’s statelessness provisions ahead of the 12 June 2026 deadline and makes recommendations to improve the identification and protection of stateless people in line with EU and international law. The Pact introduced new legal requirements to identify and record indications of statelessness, pending a determination. This constitutes important progress towards improved identification and protection of stateless applicants and beneficiaries of international protection in Europe. There has been some progress towards implementation, but information from our members across the EU suggests much work remains to be done. To support full implementation, effective application, and robust monitoring, ENS recommends that: • Member States should finalise necessary adjustments to their national regulatory frameworks and operational policy and guidance and urgently skill-up officials to ensure indications of statelessness are identified and recorded at screening and registration, and individuals referred to a procedure to determine their statelessness at an appropriate juncture in proceedings. Information about statelessness should be shared and considered as appropriate in all asylum, return, and detention decisions including in border procedures. The specific rights of stateless persons under international law should be closely monitored in fundamental rights monitoring. • The European Commission should highlight the statelessness provisions in its engagement with Member States, ensure Pact monitoring assesses how the statelessness provisions in the Screening Regulation and Asylum Procedures Regulation are being applied, and resource their effective application. • EU Agencies (EU Asylum Agency, FRA, Frontex) should ensure that the legal requirement to identify and record indications of statelessness is mainstreamed across all relevant products and activities, recognising its crosscutting nature, and that mechanisms are in place to uphold the specific rights of stateless persons under international law. They should ensure that statelessness is considered when engaging and supporting Member States and in their own operations when carrying out screening, registration, monitoring, or returns. • The European Parliament should monitor and provide oversight of application in practice of the statelessness provisions and protection of the fundamental rights of stateless persons • UNHCR and civil society actors should incorporate recommendations on statelessness into relevant publications and advocacy interventions at regional and national levels, and ensure their teams are equipped to support stateless individuals and those with undetermined nationality to access their rights We are calling for collaborative action between all stakeholders including affected communities to fully implement and effectively apply the statelessness provisions and guarantee the full rights and support owed to stateless applicants and beneficiaries of international protection under international law.