Solidarity in EU asylum policy

Summary:

The arrival of refugees and irregular migrants in the EU in unprecedented numbers in 2015 exposed a number of deficiencies in the EU's external border, asylum and migration policy, and sparked EU action through various legal and policy instruments. Today, even though the EU has been relatively successful in securing its external borders, curbing irregular migrant arrivals and increasing cooperation with third countries, Member States are still reluctant to show solidarity and do more to share responsibility for asylum-seekers. Turmoil in Africa and the Middle East, followed by the war in Ukraine and the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip are forcing more and more people to flee violence and seek a safe haven in Europe. At times spontaneously, Member States have reacted to these crises and showed open solidarity, as with regard to the Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. At other times their reaction has been more ambivalent: take for instance the ripples of discord caused by the disembarkation in November 2022 of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean by four private vessels, which once again clearly demonstrated the need for a more stable and predictable mechanism to manage irregular migration. International cooperation and solidarity are key in helping to manage migration to and between states. Under international law, states have certain legal obligations to assist and protect the refugees they accept on their territory, but the legal duties of other states, as regards providing help and sharing that responsibility, are less clearly codified. At EU level, the principle of solidarity is set out in several articles, including Article 80 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

However, EU law does not define the notions of 'solidarity' or 'fair sharing of responsibilities' for refugees or asylum-seekers. This has prompted EU institutions, academics and other stakeholders to propose different ways to render solidarity more operational; these include sharing out relevant tasks and pooling resources at EU level, and providing financial and other forms of compensation for frontline Member States. The migration and asylum pact adopted in spring 2024 sets out a new flexible but mandatory solidarity system. This updates and expands on a January 2023 briefing by the same authors.

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