The evolution of EU asylum policy

Summary:

The Single European Act (SEA) began a process that has evolved into a truly borderless Europe for some years. While it is now much easier for citizens to move freely in this new area, it became necessary to find an effective way to keep third country nationals out. What had began as a patchwork of intergovernmental agreements has gradually evolved into a Europe-wide asylum acquis, recently culminating in a May 2004 breakthrough where ministers forged the basis of a Europe-wide common asylum policy.

The development of the asylum acquis, however, took place alongside a considerable shift in the perception of asylum seekers in Europe. Those who were once seen in the post-war era as victims and even heroes have now become largely a security problem on the same levels as illegal migrants. Since the 1970s, there has been a drive towards the politicization of all migrants as a challenge to the protection of national identity and welfare provisions.

This view is an outgrowth of the efforts of, inter alia, police, customs agents, social movements, and radical parties of the right. This paper will trace the development of asylum policy with regard to the European integration process and its transformation from a national concern to a European one. An examination of the forces behind the current shape of EU asylum policy will then be discussed, followed by an examination of asylum policy transfer during enlargement and some recommendations.