Applying the statelessness provisions in the EU Pact on Migration & Asylum May 2026 Background Statelessness was invisible in the original Pact proposals. In response to this omission, ENS, our members, and partners engaged extensively with the European Parliament, Council, and Commission throughout the negotiations to advocate for clear provisions reflecting EU MS international obligations to protect the rights of stateless persons. Several of our calls to address statelessness were heard and incorporated in the final Pact instruments adopted in 2024. In November 2024, we published a briefing with detailed recommendations to support the implementation of new requirements to identify and address statelessness in the leadup to the 12 June 2026 deadline. Now, this latest briefing takes stock of progress and focuses on application. It draws on information gathered from our work and that of our national members about implementation gaps to date, and recommends action to ensure full adherence with the new requirements in all Member States. What are the statelessness provisions in the Pact? Screening Regulation The Screening Regulation includes under Article 2(5) the international customary law definition of a stateless person found in the 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons: ‘a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law’. As part of preliminary vulnerability checks, Recital 37 provides that ‘indications… of being stateless’ should be identified, Article 12(3) provides that the screening be carried out ‘with a view to identifying whether a third-country national might be a stateless person’, and Article 17, the ‘Screening form’, includes the field ‘indication of nationalities or statelessness’. Asylum Procedures Regulation (APR) The APR in Recital 24 reminds Member States to ‘respect their international obligations towards stateless persons, in accordance with international human rights law instruments including where applicable under the [1954 Convention]’, advising that they ‘should endeavour to identify stateless persons and strengthening their protection thus allowing stateless persons to enjoy core fundamental rights and reducing the risk of discrimination or unequal treatment’. Article 3(15) includes the international legal definition of a stateless person. Article 27(2) provides for the consequence of identification of statelessness, stating that where an individual claims not to have a nationality, that fact shall be clearly registered pending the determination of whether the individual is stateless. Consequently, Article 29(4)(a) cites the requirement to include ‘nationalities or, if applicable, an indication of statelessness’ in documents issued to confirm an asylum application. Regulation on Asylum and Migration Management (RAMM) The AMMR in Recital 49 includes the same text that appears in the APR recitals requiring respect for international obligations towards stateless persons, reference to the 1954 Convention, and strengthening protection and avoiding discrimination. Article 2(2) also incorporates the international legal definition of a stateless person. Regulation on the establishment of Eurodac In Recital 56, the Eurodac Regulation references the 2015 Council Conclusions on Statelessness and recalls the commitment that all Member States have made to accede to the 1954 Convention.