Reconfiguring European Union Migration Governance: From Technocratic Policy Harmonisation to Transactional Diplomacy Under the 2024 Pact on Migration and Asylum

Abstract This study examines the structural transformation in European Union (EU) migration governance following the adoption of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum of 2024. The negotiation introduced a new layer of decision‐making that augmented the existing technocratic co‐ordination within the Justice and Home Affairs networks with high‐level political bargaining among heads of state. Building on the argument of an ‘intergovernmentalist turn’, this study explores how political negotiations have been integrated into internal legislative co‐ordination in the areas of migration and asylum. This shift represents not merely a procedural adjustment but a deeper recalibration of governance, where political feasibility and strategic compromise take precedence over normative coherence and legalistic frameworks. This transformation can be understood in terms of changes in locus , logic and legitimacy . Locus refers to the relocation of decision‐making dynamics, with greater involvement of high‐level political forums dominated by heads of state. Logic highlights the growing reliance on package deals and transactional diplomacy, whilst legitimacy points to the increasing importance of political agreement resulting from high‐level bargaining among member states.