Migration and asylum, the agenda of the new European Commission and the unexpected impact of COVID-19 Estrella Galán and Paloma Favieres Following the European elections of May 2019, 1 the new Commission took office on 1 December under the presidency of Ursula von der Leyen, who set out her pro­gramme,“My Agenda for Europe”, when she sought the European Parliament’s backing for her candidacy. 2 Migration and asylum issues are key priorities for the Commission, which has announced the start of a new cycle that will give rise, over the coming months, to a European Pact with particular emphasis on matters re­lating to border security and solidarity between Member 1 The European Parliament is more fragmented than in the previous legislature, with both dominant groups(the European People’s Party and the Party of European Socialists) losing seats, while the Liberals and the Greens increased their representation. Following Brexit, 27 of the UK’s 73 seats were distributed among the remaining Member States(with five being allocated to Spain), and this also gave rise to slight changes in the weight of some political groups. 2 Von der Leyen, U.: A Union that strives for more: my agenda for Europe by Candidate for President of the European Commission. htt­ps://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/political-guide­lines-next-commission_en.pdf States in this area. 3 It also explicitly states that the European Union will always respect its values and will help refugees, something which constitutes“a moral duty”. 4 3 In the new Commission, the issues of migration and asylum are the remit of Commissioner and Vice-President, Margaritis Schinas, a Greek representative of the European People’s Party with the portfolio for “Promoting our European way of life”(formerly“Protecting our Euro­pean way of life”, a title that aroused fierce criticism). 4 As the Spanish Commission for Refugees(CEAR) has noted on numerous occasions, this is not just a moral but also a legal obliga­tion, as the right to asylum is enshrined in several legal instruments, including the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and a range of regulations and directives that regulate international protection within the EU. Following her election by the European Parliament, President Von der Leyen reaffirmed that“Europe will always offer asylum to those who need international protection”, and argued that the Common Euro­pean Asylum System must be reformed, while preserving the values of solidarity and responsibility. She went on to stress that migration is not going to disappear and that Europe, which is so proud of its values and of the rule of law, must offer a response which is both humane and effective. 65