Common European Asylum System in a Changing World

PREFACE Today, in 2020, it seems that the peak of the migration crisis in Europe is over, but what are the lessons learnt and what should be measures supported by the Member States in future to avoid failure of EUmigrationmanagement?The European Commission recognizes that migration and border security are common challenges that are best addressed jointly by EU Member States and it has proposed a number of measures to reform migration management and border protection across the EU. Among other measures, migration crisis highlighted the need to reform EU asylum rules. The Common European asylum system (CEAS) sets minimum standards for the treatment of all asylum seekers and applications across the EU. Migration into and within Europe is regulated by a combination of national law, EU law, the ECHR, the ESC and by other international obligations entered into by European states. Under the current rules, asylum seekers are not treated uniformly across the EU and the share of positive asylum decisions also varies greatly. As a result of this asylum seekers travel around Europe and apply for asylum in the countries where they believe they will have a higher chance of receiving international protection. It is clear, that the system needs modernization. The European Parliament and the Council are examining seven legislative proposals made by the European Commission to improve EU asylum rules which aim to: • make the system more efficient and more resistant to migratory pressure • eliminate pull factors as well as secondary movements • fight abuse and better support the most affected Member States But – is there a common consensus how to modernize these rules? On the contrary, the issue of European solidarity continues to divide the bloc at a time experts are warning of a repeat of the migrant crisis due to the conflict in Syria and instability in Africa. Lack of consensus on how to interpret solidarity, as enshrined in Article 80 TFEU, was already apparent during the 2015 emergency relocation exercise. Despite most Member States’ willingness to relocate asylum-seekers, some, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, objected to the scheme. They challenged the Council’s decision adopting the scheme before the Court of Justice of the EU, which rejected their case in a judgment of September 2017 (C-643/15 and C-647/15). Other disagreements regarding the CEAS were reflected in the 2018 ‘disembarkation crises’, when Italy and Malta repeatedly prevented NGO and other vessels that were conducting search and rescue activities in the Mediterranean from disembarking the people they had rescued at sea in their ports. It seems quite clear, that the consensus over European asylum rules cannot be reached merely by a political decision at the EU level. It must be supported by EU citizens of all Member States and that is why the bottom up approach is crucial. Legitimate decisions should be based on common understanding how the European asylum system works or should work in European and international context. One of the path how to support this understanding is to promote lectures of EU migration and asylum law especially at the law and social science faculties throughout Europe in a manner that would enable to share national experience, to debate different positions and solutions. Cooperation of European universities – within the 4EU Initiative – to which the project on Common European

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