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101. Europe`s migration crisis: threats to Schengen

Author:
Juan Antonio Pavón Losada
Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:
2015 has been the year of refugees. Acording to ACNUR, around 1.006.768 migrants have arrived to the European Union running from war and poverty crossing the Mediterranean Sea. More than 850.000 asylum seekers arrived in Greece crossing the Egean Sea, standing for the 84,5% of the people who arrived in Europe in irregular conditions, while the number using the Italian route went slightly down from 170.000 in 2014 to 152.700 in 2015. Member states and EU institutions have a duty to respond to this situation under international law and agreed on an European Agenda on Migration that stated the “immediate imperative is a duty to protect those in need” adopting a substantial package of new measures: Setting out a common approach to managing Europe's external borders, migration flows and the implementation, strengthening and development of a common Asylum and immigration policy withing the Schengen Area. Under this agreement, an Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) has been set up for the period 2014-20, with a total of EUR 3.1 billion for the seven years. As part of this strategy, the European Commission, in its attempts to push forward an EU agenda, has proposed to establish a European Border and Coast Guard to ensure a strong and shared management of the external borders. In this line, Frontex recently accepted a Greek request to deploy Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABIT) increasing the number of officers and technical equipment, such as boats and patrol cars, allowing to identify and register more migrants as soon after they arrive. In addition to 448 officers offered by Member States under thise mechanism, Frontex deploys 16 vessels and more than 260 officers assisting in new arrivals, as well as border surveillance officers, and document experts. However, and due to the lack of political commitment, after this serie of so-far unsuccessful attempts to address the stream of migrants and refugees the EU has opted to push the problem out of its borders following in Greece the model implemented in the West African migration route. According to EU data, the fact is incontestable: through subsidizing third countries to block the route to keeping migrants out of EU borders; express readmission agreements, reinforcing border control, guards and fences whilst dismantling camps at third countries soil; irregular immigration to Spain by sea decreased to very low levels. However, as in tthe Spanish case, this is not only illegal under international law. Human Right Watchdog organizations report gross and systematic violations of human rights since those measures may represent "an unjustified militarization of the border" and "an outsourcing of the control of external borders of the EU to a country that does not respect human rights". Following this strategy, in March 2016, the EU sealed an agreement with Turkey, temporary home to more than 2 million Syrians, to stop commuting to Greece. In return, Turkey will double the 3,000 million euros of aid approved by the European Union in exchange for their commitment to 6,000 million € to “improve border control and to cooperate in the fight against traffickers. Besides allowing the express devolution of irregular migrants and refugees to Turkey, the deal will cap the number of Syrian refugees resettled from Turkey at 72.000. Far from the 850.000 that arrived last year and even far from the 160.000 agreed last year. Undoubtedly, the agreement represents the last attempt to save Schengen after the continous EU failure to set up a common response to the crisis. The EU Parliament -which action is very limited due to the lack of compentencesis officially discussing the agreement in addition to the future of the Schengen zone; the rights of refugees under international law; and racism and violence suffered by these incomers. Many MEPs have expressed grave reservations about the deal, questioning whether the agreement with Turkey violated international conventions.
Topic:
Migration, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Asylum, and Schengen
Political Geography:
Europe and Brussels

102. Europe: No Migrant's Land?

Author:
Maurizio Ambrosini
Publication Date:
08-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI)
Abstract:
The Mediterranean region has always been marked by intense migration flows. Over the last few years, political instability in Middle East and North Africa countries, coupled with longstanding demographic and economic trends, have caused a sudden upsurge of migrants reaching Europe’s shores. Despite scattered shows of solidarity, however, the European response has proven slow and fragmented. This volume offers a complete and encompassing analysis of the current state of play in terms of migration flows across the Mediterranean and policy responses by European transit and receiving countries. Attention is specifically devoted to ongoing debates about the management of mixed migration, the peculiar profile and needs of asylum seekers, migrants’ labour market access, and integration policies in Europe.
Topic:
Demographics, Migration, Refugees, Economy, Asylum, and Integration
Political Geography:
Europe

103. Forced population movements as a current ethical dilemma and the possibilities of collective action

Author:
C. Akça Ataç
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:
Altinbas University
Abstract:
The spirit of our times has been increasingly determined by refugee crisis and asylum institutions. If one could read the ongoing economic, political, environmental and demographic crises correctly, a refugee crisis would not have been treated as unexpected, unfortunate singular coincidence. A comprehensive, non-proscriptive approach with a collective, multilevel engagement must urgently be generated by the international community to create an all-encompassing legal consciousness. This paper seeks to delve into the question of the current refugee crisis from an historical point of view and recount the progress of the international refugee regime. In doing that it will also discuss the possibility of the launch of a collective action by the international community in the present. Refugee history is not progressive; it has not linearly proceeded towards comprehensive solutions. There are ruptures, retreats, changes of attitude -from positive to negative, from negative to inaction. Despite the growing global governance with the participation of international and non-governmental organizations, states are still the major actors in the refugee regime. The dominant role of the states in managing the refugee crisis creates an ethical dilemma, as is the case in every normative context state is involved. This paper, therefore, will finally assess the ethical dilemma unveiled by the recent EU-Turkey refugee deal.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Population, European Union, Refugees, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

104. The EU facing asylum and migration: more ambition, more compromise Authorship: Juan Antonio Pavón

Author:
Juan Antonio Pavón Losada
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:
The number of asylum seekers in 2014 was the highest since 1992, when the Bosnia-Herzegovina war began. Nowadays, the Syrian civil war, the migratory transit through the Mediterranean Sea (218.0001 economic migrants and refugees), the alarming figures of deaths, and the increasing social pressure, made the EU step forward to review the current migration and neighborhood policy framework, whilst fostering a communitarian dimension, inexistent so far. Amongst other measures, stands out the European lifesaving mission "Triton2", depending on Frontex, which has been given the same budget as the Italian government gave to "Mare Nostrum" in order to prevent new maritime disasters. The European Commission also proposed to improve legal channels to prevent asylum seekers (economic migrants are excluded) from putting their lives at risk by crossing the Mediterranean Sea, exposing themselves to mafias, or being victims of illegal border controls (like in the case of Ceuta and Melilla in 2014)3 . This is planned to be implemented by triggering an emergency mechanism, laid down in the treaties, to resettle 40,000 asylum seekers from Italy, Greece and Malta; and take 20,000 others out of conflict areas in the next 24 months. According to report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (ACNUR)4, the 28 member states of the European Union (EU) recorded 570 800 asylum applications in 2014, 44% more than in 2013 (396 700). -Germany and Sweden received 30% and 13% of EU applications respectively. Sweden, with a population of 10 million, received a total of 75,100 requests of which 77% were approved. -Followed by France and Italy (10%) and Hungary (7%). -Compared to the population of each country, the highest rate corresponds to Sweden (8.4 applications per thousand inhabitants), well ahead of Hungary (4.3), Austria (3.3), Malta (3.2 ), Denmark (2.6) and Germany (2.5). -In Spain, 5,941 people (1%) called for international protection in 2014, representing an increase of 31.7% compared to 2013 when 4,513 applications were registered. Of the nearly 6,000 applications, only about 1600 were approved. Even from alternative sources such as Eurostat5, Spain is, among the countries of the European Union, where fewer asylum applications were received, with only 0.1 applicants per thousand inhabitants. Only Portugal, Slovakia and Romania recorded lower rates. According to Eurostat, in 2014, the number of asylum seekers in Spain stood at 5,615. However, out of this figure, only 31% were accepted, which represents 0.9% of all requests for international protection in the EU. The main countries of origin of those seeking asylum in Spain are Syria (1,680 applicants) and Ukraine (942), followed by Mali (620), Algeria (309) and Palestine (209). To better understand whether those positions are suitable or not, a careful analysis needs to be done. In early 2015, the EU population was about 5076 million, 13, 4% of those came from third countries (about 20 million). In 2014, EU states received 1 http://www.acnur.org/t3/recursos/estadisticas/ 2 http://frontex.europa.eu/news/frontex-launches-joint-operation-triton-JSYpL7 3 https://twitter.com/malmstromeu/status/434307240796094464 4 http://www.acnur.org/t3/fileadmin/Documentos/Publicaciones/2015/10010.pdf 5 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Asylum_statistics 6 http://europa.eu/about-eu/facts-figures/living/index_en.htm 1 Opex Memorandum Nº196*/2015_______________The EU facing asylum and migration: more ambition, more compromise about 600,0007 asylum applications, of those only 160.0008 were approved. Of these approved applications, 56% (89710) received the refugee status, 34% (54845) subsidiary protection and 10% (15510) were given asylum condition due to humanitarian reasons. At first instance only 35% were approved, which meant an increase of 0.03% over the total population and a less than minimal reduction in indicators of GDP per capita or rising of the unemployment rates. In contrast, the total number of asylum applications in 2014 raised to almost 200,000 more applications. In the past four years, these numbers have grown steadily. The highest number of applicants are coming from Syria, which is still suffering the ravages of a civil war, and has not changed (50 470, 12% of the total). On the one hand, given the figures of that period9, when there were less asylum claims, there were 12,425 unaccompanied minors who requested international protection; most of them were accepted in Sweden, Germany, the UK, Austria and Italy. On the other hand, 23,632 victims of human trafficking in the EU during the period 2008-2010 were identified, 80% of them women and girls, and 20% men and boys. In most cases they suffered sexual exploitation (62%), followed by forced labor (25%) and other forms of trafficking as organ harvesting, criminal activities or sale of children (14%).
Topic:
International Cooperation, Migration, Immigration, Europe Union, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Europe and Brussels

105. Departure to the EU Member States: causes and consequences of Kosovo’s recent migration

Author:
Plator Avdiu
Publication Date:
10-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
According to official statistical data, it is estimated that around 75,000 Kosovo citizens have migrated to the European Union, mainly to Hungary and Germany through Serbia, only from October 2014 to March 2015. Given that this number represents those who have actually officially sought asylum, the total number of migrants who continue to reside illegally is much higher than 75,000, As a result, during this period Kosovo ranked among the top five countries from where asylum applications were made in at least one of the European Union Member States. Irregular migration from Kosovo presents yet another challenge for Kosovo, since the European Union’s stance is that the number of Kosovo asylum applications to the European Union needs to fall before any recommendation can be made in regards to the visa-free regime for Kosovo. Through this paper, Kosovar Centre for Security Studies, aims to provide reasons behind Kosovo’s recent migration flow towards the European countries. Accordingly, our research indicates that there are three main reasons behind recent wave of migration from Kosovo: (1) lack of socio-economic perspective in Kosovo; (2) smuggling of migrants, and (3) the absence of cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of Kosovo and Serbia, that is to say between the Kosovo Police and the Police of Serbia. Apart from economic factors which are seen to be the main reasons for migration, a sharp surge in the number of migrants to the EU is considered to have occurred as a result of networks of smugglers operating in Kosovo and Serbia that were smuggling migrants in order to take them to the European Union through Serbian legal and illegal routes. Furthermore, there was no police cooperation between Kosovo and Serbia to combat organized crime networks, which could prevent illegal migration.
Topic:
Migration, European Union, Smuggling, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans

106. Migration: Challenging visa liberalization for Kosovo

Author:
Donika Emini
Publication Date:
11-2015
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
This paper aims to demonstrate the extent to which the recent migratory flows from Kosovo challenged its visa liberalization process in both the technical and political aspects. While the technical aspect includes repatriation of the returned persons in Kosovo, the political aspect relies on the attitude of the EU countries towards Kosovo when granting their opinion on the visa liberalization process for Kosovo. The end of 2014 and the beginning of 2015 have witnessed a rather large wave of Kosovo migrants heading towards the EU countries through the so called “Western Balkan route” mainly via Serbia aiming to reach the EU Schengen zone. The flux of migrants raised a lot of questions about the implications for Kosovo's EU perspective. According to the authorities in Prishtina, roughly 50,000 (Kosovo Intelligence Agency, 2015) people left Kosovo from November 2014 to April 2015, although data published by the Eurostat count roughly 75,000 persons (Eurostat, 2015) aiming to reach the EU countries, in most of the cases Germany. Correspondingly, during this period, citizens of Kosovo topped the list of asylum seekers in Europe with roughly 74,755 applications, followed by Syrians with and Afghans (Eurostat, 2015).
Topic:
Migration, European Union, Asylum, Visa, and Liberalization
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans

107. SOGI-Related Forced Migration in East Africa: Fleeing Uganda After the Passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act

Author:
Gitta Zomorodi
Publication Date:
07-2015
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Philanthropy Project (GPP)
Abstract:
Over the past decade, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans have sought safety and asylum in various countries, but never in such numbers or with such a high degree of visibility as following the passage of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in December 2013. When reports of LGBT Ugandans seeking refuge in Kenya began to surface in the months following, many international donors and LGBT activists in the region felt at a loss for how to respond. Stories of LGBT Ugandans in the Kakuma refugee camp and Nairobi highlighted difficult living conditions, harassment, arrests and violence. Refugee service providers, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), struggled to respond to the unexpected influx, one that coincided with a government crackdown on refugees in Kenya. It seemed that the Ugandans had left one hostile and insecure environment for another, yet the numbers continued to grow. Instead of slowing, following the Anti-Homosexuality Act’s nullification in August 2014, the stream of asylum seekers from Uganda continued and even increased. …The findings of the research are intended to inform the individuals and organizations who have been responding or wish to respond to this complex situation; to help strengthen protection mechanisms within Uganda and Kenya; and to support proactive and sustainable interventions to address LGBT forced migration. While the recommendations are focused on the situation related to Uganda, it is hoped that they have relevance to the region more broadly and wherever similar situations may arise.
Topic:
Refugees, LGBT+, Asylum, and Forced Migration
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, and East Africa

108. The Recent Flow of Asylum-Seekers from Georgia to Poland

Author:
Jenny Thomsen
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
Abstract:
Over the past months Poland has witnessed an exceptionally large number of Georgian citizens applying for asylum. From April to November 2009, approximately 4,000 Georgian citizens have crossed the Polish border with the aim of applying for asylum. This number is astonishing in comparison with previous years when only approximately 400 applications were received in the entire period between 2000 and 2008.2 In parallel, there has recently been an increase of asylum-seekers from Georgia in other European Union countries, with about 2,000 applications in Germany and 2,000 in the Baltic States, Greece, Switzerland, Italy and Austria together. Some of these people initially arrived in Poland and have thereafter disappeared from the asylum camps while their asylum application was still in process. Given that Georgia’s total population is about four and a half million inhabitants this number is extraordinarily high. The number of Georgian asylum-seekers in Poland has now even exceeded the number of persons from Chechnya seeking asylum. Out of the approximately 4,000 Georgian citizens applying for asylum between April and November, about 60% were persons aged 18-34. Children up to 13 years old constituted roughly a fifth of the asylum-seekers and people aged 35-64 made up about the same number. Males represented nearly two thirds and particularly young males between 18-34 were overrepresented, constituting around 40%. The flow of Georgian citizens to Poland peaked in July and August with 1,038 respectively 1,371 Georgian asylum-seekers. In September, the number had decreased to 317, in October to 205 and in November further to 143. The large majority of the asylum-seekers from Georgia (about 90%) are reported to be Yezidi-Kurds, generally poorly educated and sometimes even illiterate. The remaining part is reportedly ethnic Georgians, Armenians and Azeris.
Topic:
Minorities, European Union, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Europe, Poland, and Georgia

109. Justice and Home Affairs Issues in Turkish-EU Relations

Author:
Kemal Kirisçi
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Turkish-EU relations entered a new era with the decision to declare Turkey a candidate country for membership at the Helsinki summit of December 1999. i Since then the adoption of the Accession Partnership Document (APD) issued by the EU in December 2000ii and the National Programme issued in April 2001iii by the Turkish government have set an agenda of issues to be addressed in preparing Turkey’s accession. In general, considerable public attention has been given to the reform s that Turkey must introduce to meet the Copenhagen criteria and to foreign policy issues such as the question of Cyprus. One aspect of both documents that has received little attention is Justice and Home Affair (JHA) issues. JHA is an area of the European integration process that has not yet become supranational. Instead, member countries have preferred to address issues to do with JHA through intergovernmental cooperation. Nevertheless, an impressive level of EU acquis has been developed and candidate countries are expected to harmonise their legislation and practice to it. Central to JHA issues is asylum, irregular migration and visas. Once the geography of the EU became borderless for the citizens of member countries, the questions of common asylum and immigration policies acquired heightened importance. The need to coordinate policy increased and the EU has gradually edged toward a common asylum and immigration policy. The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam includes a commitment by member states to develop such a policy within five years. Once this is achieved the development of common immigration and asylum policies will come under the Council of Ministers’ power.
Topic:
International Relations, Immigration, European Union, Justice, and Asylum
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean