This lecture will critically examine the main policy initiatives adopted during the last two months at EU levels to respond to the so-called 'refugee crisis'. Particular attention will be paid to the new EU relocation (quota) system of asylum seekers and other measures related to the reinforcement of external border controls (and the EU external borders agency, Frontex) as well as return policies in cooperation with neighboring third countries. The following questions will be assessed:
Are these initiatives ensuring a fairer sharing of legal responsibility among all EU Member States?
Do they address the main deficits of the current EU asylum system and the so-called Dublin regime?
Do they better ensure the human rights and reception of asylum seekers and refugees in the EU?
Dr. Sergio Carrera is a Senior Research Fellow (Centre for European Policy Studies, CEPS, Belgium), and Associate Professor (Faculty of Law, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands).
For more information contact perg@ceu.edu