EU Data System Crashes on First Day of New Migration Pact

On its very first day of operation, Eurodac -- the European database designed to share asylum seeker information between member states -- suffered a major outage, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has confirmed. The system, which is a cornerstone of the new European asylum and migration pact, went down on Friday morning following an update. An IND spokesperson believes multiple countries were affected, and the system may not have worked properly before the outage was reported at around 9:30 AM. In Ter Apel, the Netherlands, asylum seekers registering under the new system for the first time were unable to complete their full intake process. While biometric data such as fingerprints were still collected, they could not be shared through Eurodac. This means authorities cannot yet verify whether applicants have previously sought asylum in another EU country -- a key function of the pact. Under the new rules, if Eurodac identifies that someone has previously applied for asylum in another member state like Greece or Italy, they are to be sent back to that country. Meanwhile, the Dutch Refugee Council (VluchtelingenWerk) reported significantly more people gathering at the Ter Apel registration center than in recent days. Over a hundred people were counted, including several women (one heavily pregnant) and three young children. A tent was set up by the Red Cross as children were seen shivering in the cold.