Elisabeth Sándor-Szalay, associate professor

University of Pécs – Faculty of Law

IP CCCEU Rotterdam – 10 April 2010

ASYLUM AND

IMMIGRATION POLICYIN THE EUROPEAN UNION

TOPICS to be discussedGeneral topics

Historical aspects The many faces of

migration Institutional basis of

European migration policy Immigration policy Integration policy Irregular migration Refuge and asylum European Union citizenship

Special topics

• Irregular migration – gaps• Remittances – a bridge

between migration and development

• Promoting integration policy

• Networks and their influence on migration policy

• How healthy are migrants?• Skilled female labour

migration• Dual citizenship• Climate change and

migration

1. Refugee2. Asylum seeker3. Migrant (regular/irregular) - immigrant 4. Economic migrant5. IDP6. Stateless person

TERMINOLOGYDefinitions in brief

People:

who are outside their country of nationality or habitual residence

andhave a well-founded fear of persecution

because of their - race, - religion, - nationality, - membership of a particular social group or - political opinion

Refugees should not be expelled or returned „to the frontiers of territories where [their] life or freedom would be threatened.”

REFUGEE

as

described in the

Refugee

Convention of

the UN (1951) –

relating to the

status of

refugees

People fleeing

conflicts or generalized violence

are also often and generally

considered as refugees

REFUGEE

altough

under legal

mechanisms

OTHER

then the 1951

Convention

Someone who

• has made a claim that he or she is a refugee, and

• Is waiting for that claim to be accepted or rejected.

The term contain no presumption either way – it simply describes the fact that someone has lodged the claim.

Some asylum seekers will be judged to be refugees and others will not.

ASYLUM

SEEKER

A wide-ranging term

that covers most people who

• move to a foreign country • for a variety of reasons

• and for a certain length of time:• usually for a minimum of a year (so as not to include very temporary visitors

such as tourists, people on business visits, etc.)

MIGRANT

Regular/

Irregular

Regular migrants

People staying withthe necessary

residence permit in a country of which

they are not citizensfor a longer time

People stayingwithout the

necessary residence permit and

without a formal statutory temporary suspension of deportation

in a country of which they are not citizens

THE TERM: MIGRANT

Irregular migrants

Someone who

takes up permanent residence

in a country other than his or her original homeland.

The term can be used for regular migrants.

IMMIGRAN

T

Someone who

leaves their country of origin

for financial reasons

rather than for refugee ones.

ECONOMIC

MIGRANT

Someone who

has been forced to move from his or her home because of - conflict, persecution (refugee-like reasons)

or because of - a natural disaster or - some other unusual circumstance of

this type.

Unlike refugees, however, IDPs remain inside their own

country !!!!!!

Internally

Displaced

Person

IDP

1. Someone who is not considered as a national by ANY state - de jure stateless person

2. Or possibly someone who does not enjoy fundamental rights enjoyed by other nationals in their home state – de facto stateless person

STATELESS

PERSON

As defined by

the UNHCR

(UN High

Commissioner on

Refugees)

Statelessness can be a personal disaster: some stateless people live in a netherworld where they do not officially exist and therefore have virtually no rights at all.

Unlike the other groups outlined here, they may have never moved away from the place where they were born.

But some other stateless people are also refugees.

STATELESSN

ESS

Three main options exist – mainly for refugees:

1. Voluntary repatriation = is the preferred long-term solution, as soon as circumstances permit

2. Local integration = either in the asylum country or in third countries

3. Resettlement = only a small number of countries take part in resettlement programmes and accept quotas of refugees on an annual basis.

Finding durable solutions

BACK TO THE GENERAL TOPICS

Historical Development of Migration in the European Union

Former colonial states

This countries were already immigration countries in the 19th century, such as:

BelgiumFranceUnited Kingdom

This countries become countries of immigration after the Second World War, such as:

Germany Austria

Historical diversity 1.

Guest worker model

Southern EU Member States (transit countries at the „gates of Europe”

until the 1980’s)

ItalyPortugalSpain Greece

Historical diversity 2.

New EU Member States(East and Southeast)

They have been essentially emigration countries since the fall of the Iron Curtain

But since joining the EU in 2004 and 2007 – they have rapidly developed into receveing countries,

even though some of them currently still record more emigrants than immigrants.

Historical diversity 3.

Receiving countriesSpain ItalyCzech RepublikBelgiumSwedenGermanyGreeceAustriaDenmark

Baltic StatesBulgariaPoland Netherlands

The many faces of Migration in the EU 1.- in terms of numbersNegative

immigration c.

Legal categories – strong differences

1. Labour migration – dominates in countries with less regulated labour markets (UK, Ireland, Czech Republik, Denmark)

2. Family reunification (especially apparent in France and Sweden)

3. Both categories in similar percentage (Italy, Germany)

4. Special category: „Spätaussiedler” – ethnic German immigrants from the countries of the former Soviet Union)

The many Faces… 2.

Geographical origin of immigrant groupsreflects

- Historical experiences- Geographical proximity

For example:Portugal = Cape Verde, Brazil, AngolaSpain = Ecuador, MoroccoTurkish citizens = Germany, Denmark, NetherlandsGreece = AlbaniaEtc.

The many Faces…3.

Level of qualification

1. Good education or university degree – high skill migrants

2. Low skilled migrants

Only the UK records almost equal percentages of highly and low skilled migrants.

The many Faces…4.

1. Institutional Basis of European Migration Policy – You have worked it out during the preparatory work

2. Immigration Policy 3. Integration Policy – generally speaking4. Irregular Migration – generally speaking5. Refugee and Asylum – generally speaking

General topics – we will not address now

1. Who can be EU citizen? – every person holding the nationality of a member state

2. Who can hold the nationality of a member state? – it is up to the national regulation of the MS

3. What about the naturalisation regulations?

EU citizenship

For second generation

upon reaching the

age of majority

Belgium

Finnland

France

UK

Italy

Netherlands

Sweden (!)

For second generation upon birth

Belgium

Germany

Ireland

Portugal

UK

For third generation

Belgium

France

Nehterlands

Portugal

Spain

No jus soli

Austria

Denmark

Greece

Luxemburg

Jus soli regulations in the old MS

CONCLUDING REMARCS

Special topics for 2011

European asylum and immigration policy

Expectations of citizens

who credit the EU with special role in solving these matters

Two controversies1.

Standardisation v. safeguard sovereignty

2. Internal security v. universal human rights, humanitarian values and economic priorities

What rights and obligations does a refugee

have?

Some further question…What happens when governments can’t or won’t provide help?

Are people who flee war zones refugees?

Some further question…Can governments deport people who are found not

to be refugees?

Can a war criminal or terrorist be a refugee?

Some further question…

Can a soldier be refugee?

Do all refugees have to go trough an asylum

determination process?

Further…What is „temporary

protection”?

Thank you for your attention!

Have a nice weekend!