European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
EU’s refugee crisis
World Refugee Day: making child-sensitive asylum and refugee policy
Written by Joanna Apap and Anita Orav. An unprecedented mass movement to the EU of asylum-seekers and migrants of all ages began in 2014, reached a peak in 2015, and subsequently continued into 2016 and 2017. On 5 April 2017, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on addressing refugee and migrant movements: the role of EU external … Continue reading
Smart Borders: EU Entry/Exit System [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Anita Orav and Alessandro D’Alfonso (2nd edition), In anticipation of increased traveller flows and in response to security concerns regarding the control of EU external borders, on 6 April 2016, the Commission presented a revised proposal for establishing an Entry/Exit System for recording the border-crossings of all non-EU nationals. It builds on the … Continue reading
Resettlement of refugees: EU framework [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Anja Radjenovic (2nd edition), Resettlement is one tool to help displaced persons in need of protection reach Europe safely and legally, and receive protection for as long as necessary. It is a durable solution which includes selection and transfer of refugees from a country where they seek protection to another country. Apart from … Continue reading
Common procedure for asylum [EU Legislation in progress]
Written by Anita Orav (1st edition), As one of five key acts of the common European asylum system (CEAS), the Asylum Procedures Directive sets out common procedures for Member States for granting and withdrawing international protection in accordance with the Qualification Directive. Following the large influx of asylum-seekers to the European Union since 2014, the … Continue reading
European Union Agency for Asylum [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Costica Dumbrava (2nd edition), The European Asylum Support Office provides Members States with support in fulfilling their obligations under the Common European Asylum System. Since its establishment in 2010, the support office’s role has been progressively expanded in order to reflect changes in the EU’s legal framework on asylum and to respond to … Continue reading
Reform of the Dublin system [EU Legislation in Progress]
The refugee and migrant crisis in Europe has exposed the need for reform of the Common European Asylum System, in general, and of the Dublin rules, in particular. The Commission’s proposal of 4 May 2016 to reform the Dublin system does not change the existing criteria for determining which Member State is responsible for examining an asylum application. Continue reading
Recast Eurodac Regulation [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Anita Orav (2nd edition), Eurodac is a biometric database in which Member States are required to enter the fingerprint data of asylum-seekers in order to identify where they entered the EU. Established in 2000 and reviewed in 2013, its main purpose is to facilitate the application of the Dublin Regulation. The 2013 revision … Continue reading
Safe countries of origin: Proposed common EU list [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Joanna Apap and Anita Orav (2nd edition) As part of the European Agenda on Migration, the Commission proposed a regulation on 9 September 2015 to establish a common EU list of safe countries of origin, initially comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. The aim … Continue reading
Vulnerability of unaccompanied and separated child migrants
Written by Joanna Apap, The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has estimated that in 2015, there were globally no fewer than 100 000 unaccompanied migrant and refugee children. Europol has stated that at least 10 000 unaccompanied child refugees have gone missing after arriving in Europe. There are various reasons why a child may be … Continue reading
Refugee and asylum policy in Australia: Between resettlement and deterrence
Written by Ionel Zamfir , Australia has established a refugee policy which has proved highly effective in deterring irregular migrants, but has attracted much criticism from human rights organisations. Its main drivers have been mandatory detention and offshore processing of irregular asylum-seekers arriving by boat. Since it was enacted, drownings at sea no longer occur … Continue reading
Universal Children’s Day 2016
As we mark the UN’s Universal Children’s Day this year, how are children in Europe faring in some of the key areas covered in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and what is the European Union doing to protect their rights and ensure their wellbeing? How do children themselves see their lives and … Continue reading
Reception of asylum-seekers – recast Directive [Legislation in Progress]
Written by Anja Radjenovic (1st edition), States must treat asylum-seekers and refugees according to the appropriate standards laid down in human rights and refugee law. The current migration crisis revealed wide divergences in the level of reception conditions provided by Member States. While some are facing problems in ensuring adequate and dignified treatment of applicants, … Continue reading
EPRS Roundtable on ‘Europe’s Migration and Security Nexus: The role of the EU and the UN’
Written by Joanna Apap, In the face of ongoing migration challenges and the growing focus on external and internal security threats, growing rifts have opened up between Member States, hampering attempts to renew discussion on shared European values as enshrined in the Article 2 of Treaty on the European Union. At international level, the United … Continue reading
European Border and Coast Guard system [EU Legislation in Progress]
Written by Alexandra Gatto and Jesús Carmona (3rd edition), In December 2015, the European Commission proposed setting up a European Border and Coast Guard System (EBCGS), building on the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the EU (Frontex). The proposal would introduce a supervisory … Continue reading
Growing impact of EU migration policy on development cooperation
Written by Marta Latek, The sudden substantial increase in the number of migrants in recent years has had a profound effect on the external relations dimension of European Union migration and asylum policy. The main components structuring EU external migration policy – the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (GAMM), European Agenda on Migration, and … Continue reading
Serbia’s role in dealing with the migration crisis
Written by Velina Lilyanova, In 2015, the Western Balkans experienced an unprecedented movement of migrants and refugees headed towards the EU. This created a wider European challenge affecting both EU Member States and candidate countries located along their route, particularly Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Serbia’s role has mainly been that of … Continue reading
Cohesion policy and the integration of migrants in urban areas
Written by Christiaan van Lierop, With migration largely an urban reality, the successful integration of migrants in our towns and cities is of key importance if Europe is to find a long-term solution to the migrant question. The EU’s cohesion policy can provide support for countries in this area through investments under the European Social … Continue reading
The EU and migration [What Think Tanks are Thinking]
Written by Marcin Grajewski, The migration crisis has eased since the agreement in March between the European Union and Turkey closed one major route through which people had been trying to reach Europe. A long-term solution to a better management of migration flows still appears elusive, as the Turkey deal could still unravel and other … Continue reading
Outcome of the informal meeting of 27 Heads of State or Government on 16 September 2016 in Bratislava
Written by Ralf Drachenberg, The Bratislava summit was an informal meeting of Heads of State or Government of 27 Member States. Although attended by all members of the European Council other than the UK Prime Minister, it was not a meeting of that institution. Another difference from the European Council format was the absence of … Continue reading
European travel document for illegally staying migrants [Plenary Podcast]
Written by Anja Radjenovic, In 2014, EU Member States issued almost half a million return decisions to migrants who have no right to enter or stay on the EU territory. However, only 40% of irregularly staying migrants were actually returned to a non-EU country. Lack of valid travel documents for returnees is one of the … Continue reading
