Common European Asylum System in a Changing World

• Countering smuggling and trafficking – policy developments

Victims of trafficking or particularly exploitative working conditions may be granted residence permits on the basis of the laws implementing Anti-Trafficking Directive (2000/81). EU Member States are obliged to sanction employers involved in the exploitative process in accordance with the Employers Sanctions Directive (2009/52). Both directives were adopted by EU institutions in the context of Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. • Law enforcement: return and readmission policy There are two basic instruments in the area of law enforcement. The first is the Schengen Information System (SIS), which is accessible by the authorities of the Schengen member states, and its second, improved version has been in place since 9 April 2013. A ban on entry recorded in the system by a Member State’s authority can be challenged. It makes sure that a banned third-country national will not come back to its territory through the territory of another Member State of the Schengen area. The second instrument for the enforcement of migration law is the Return Directive (2008/115), which applies to third- country nationals illegally staying in the territory of the European Union or the European Union Member States of the Schengen area. This Directive allows restrictions on freedom as a precautionary measure in the forced expulsion process. For individuals subject to an entry ban on the basis of the Return Directive, the ban usually does not extend beyond five years and it is accompanied by an SIS alert. During this time, they will be refused entry by the whole Schengen area. The grounds for the entry ban are state-specific and for this reason a Schengen-wide ban would be disproportionate. However, the EU Member State which has issued an entry ban will have to remove it from the SIS before any other EU Member State can grant a visa or admit the person. Entry bans issued outside the scope of Return Directive do not formally bar other states from allowing access to the Schengen area. In practice other states take entry bans into account when deciding whether to issue a visa or allow admission. The territorial aspect of European migration policy is worth special attention. As mentioned above, the territorial scope of the Schengen Agreements is not limited to EU countries and vice versa, not all EU countries apply Schengen acquis to the same extent. Furthermore, the system of derogations is quite diverse, and even EU Member States outside the Schengen area still implement (to some extent) EU legal acts related to asylum. Great Britain and Ireland remain outside the Schengen system. The two states formed the so-called Common Travel Area but both of them only apply part of the legal instruments in the field of asylum policy, including the Dublin III Regulation. By contrast, Denmark, which is also not part of the Schengen area, applies the Dublin II Regulation (but not Dublin III), but it does not apply any of the other instruments in the area of the common asylum policy. Similarly, Dublin II. was also extended to three non-EU countries belonging to the Schengen area. Actors involved The reference to the EU institutions is made in Article 13(1) (TEU) . This Article imposes a common objective on all institutions that they should aim to promote the Union values, advance its objectives, serve its interests, and ensure the consistency, effectiveness, and continuity of its policies and actions.

25