For the EU to force Member States to accept asylum seekers has proved politically impossible. The road to reaching a migration settlement has also been tricky, to say the least, and several countries nevertheless put themselves at the crossroads in the final stage of the negotiations.
Under the proposal for the new pact, each member state will be responsible for a certain proportion of asylum seekers based on its economy, size and historical arrival. If the countries do not want to receive refugees, they must instead pay money, equivalent to about a quarter of a million kronor per asylum seeker.
"If you boil down the pact to something, the aim is to get greater control over who comes, handle their asylum cases faster and that fewer people will stay.
The Pact will now be negotiated with the European Commission and the European Parliament – and may still change.
Hear David Boati in the clip above about what the migration pact means