In recent years, particularly since the 2015 crisis, European political, media and public discussion has focused on the migration issue at the borders of the Union. Not least on the borders with Belarus. The divisions between member countries and the instrumentalisation of the debate for the purpose of consensus for power has increased social polarisation […]
New Pact on Migration and Asylum
This week, on 18 December, the world marks the 31st International Migrants Day. Migration is one of humanity’s oldest strategies to improve people’s living conditions. In today’s world, almost four out of every hundred human beings are migrants and, in one way or another, all of us are the product of the mobility decisions of […]
At the end of September, the European Commission has presented a proposal for a new asylum and refugee policy. It is very detailed with a lot of legal regulations. But it does not address the crucial points for an effective solution that corresponds to the challenges on the ground, international law and, above all, human […]
In March 2020, a number of academics in charge of different EU funded projects concerned with migration sent an open letter to the European Commission (EC). By addressing the President of the EC and the commissioners for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Home Affairs, and Crisis Management, about 50 prominent scholars lamented policymakers’ neglect […]
In September 2020, the European Commission finally presented its New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The proposals were supposed to inject much-needed momentum into the reform of the European asylum system, which the Council has delayed for too long. But again, we see that Member States maintain well-known positions to block even the slightest progress […]
With its ‘New Pact on Migration and Asylum’, the European Commission has taken on one of the most divisive and controversial issues within the bloc. And one that puts its own human rights record most prominently on the spot. The outcome are elaborate proposals, heavy on procedure but weak on moral principles and values, and […]