Eleni Karageorgiou

Project summary

In search of solidarity: the interplay between the internal and external dimensions of European asylum policy

Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, considerable attention has been devoted to the meaning and implications of solidarity in European asylum law and refugee policy. This interest intensified following the refugee crisis in Europe in 2015–2016. Despite its many contributions, existing academic research has yet to provide a comprehensive analysis of the role of solidarity as an organising principle within the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ).

 

Researchers have tended to draw a distinction between solidarity measures involving the immigration and refugee policies of individual Member States, on the one hand, and the EU’s external action, on the other. As a result, relatively little attention has been paid to the relationship between internal solidarity within the EU concerning refugees and the external dimension of EU refugee and migration policy.

 

This project aims to address this gap by examining how solidarity is expressed in agreements between the EU and third countries, including Turkey and countries in North Africa, and how such arrangements affect the ongoing transformation of asylum law in Europe and elsewhere in the world.

 

An integrated analysis of how the governance of migration, asylum and border controls is developing both within the EU and in relations between the EU and third countries will contribute to a better understanding of the AFSJ as a legal framework, as well as of the meaning and functions of solidarity within it.