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The Migration Crisis: a Time for Solidarity Lessons?

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The Migration Crisis: a Time for Solidarity Lessons? The Migration Crisis: A Time for Solidarity Lessons? MA Thesis in European Studies: European Policy Graduate School of Humanities University of Amsterdam Author: Kristina Dimitrova Student number: 11104120 Main supervisor: dhr. mr. dr. A.C.van Wageningen Second supervisor: dhr. dr. P. Rodenburg July, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 4 List of tables/figures .................................................................................................... 5 List of Abbreviations .................................................................................................... 6 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 7 1.1. Background and Current State of Affairs ........................................................... 7 1.2. Purpose and Research Question ...................................................................... 11 1.3. Outline ............................................................................................................ 13 2. Theoretical analysis and methodological approach ................................................ 15 2.1. Defining solidarity ........................................................................................... 15 2.2 Theories on EU solidarity ................................................................................. 22 2.3. Methodological approach ................................................................................. 29 3. EU perspective .................................................................................................... 34 3.1. Legal perspective ............................................................................................. 34 3.2. Policy perspective ............................................................................................ 45 4. National Perspectives ............................................................................................. 57 4.1. Bulgaria .......................................................................................................... 60 4.1.1. Legal Perspective ....................................................................................... 60 4.1.2. Policy Perspective ...................................................................................... 65 4.2. Italy ................................................................................................................. 67 4.2.1. Legal Perspective ....................................................................................... 68 4.2.2. Policy Perspective ...................................................................................... 73 4.3. Supranational and national comparison. ......................................................... 75 5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 77 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 84 2 | P a g e ABSTRACT The migratory challenge that the EU and its Member States are facing, since 2011, raised important questions about the essence, significance, and drawbacks of one of the Union's fundamental values and principles - solidarity. Taking into account the existing gap in the knowledge about the concept's role in the context of asylum policy, this master thesis examines the possibilities of solidarity to be an effective tool for overcoming challenges such as the migration one. The paper argues that due to heterogeneous incorporation and interpretation of the concept at EU and national level, solidarity has relatively small possibility to be a panacea for the current crisis. Despite the ample presence of the concept in the EU policy and legal order, the thesis's findings reveal that at national level the concept is underdeveloped. In order to strengthen solidarity's normative power reexamination of the concept is hereby recommended. Key words: solidarity, asylum policy, migration crisis EU, constructivism, Bulgaria, Italy 3 | P a g e ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Dedicated to the memory of my mother, Mariana Peykova, who always believed in my ability to be successful. I would like to use the opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Anne van Wageningen for his support throughout the writing of this master thesis, his patience and insightful comments which have motivated me to widen my research from various perspectives. I would like to thank my parents and brother for believing in me. Thank you for your trust, love and appreciation. Thank you for allowing me to realise my own potential and dreams. Thank you for all the support provided over the years as this is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. To all my friends, thank you for helping me to keep sane and for giving me valuable support and encouragement during the last year. 4 | P a g e LIST OF TABLES/FIGURES Table 1 Concepts of Solidarity, Steinar Stjerno .......................................................... 20 Table 2 Contributions to solidarity ............................................................................. 21 Table 3 Criteria for analysis of the legal and policy perspective of solidarity ............... 33 Table 4 Framework for comparison and analysis of the correlation between solidarity at EU and national level ............................................................................................. 76 Figure 1 Solidarity's virtuous circles .......................................................................... 24 Figure 2 Number of people sought asylum (01.01.1993 -31.01.2017) ........................ 64 5 | P a g e LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BCP - Bulgarian Communist Party CEAS Common European Asylum System CFSP - Common Foreign and Security Policy CNDA - Commissione nazionale per il diritto di asilo (National Commission for the Right of Asylum) CPR - Return Detention Centre CPT - Centers for Temporary Detention CTRPI - Territorial Commissions for International Protection EASO - European Asylum Support Office EC - European Community ECJ - European Court of Justice EP – European Parliament ESM - European Stability Mechanism EU - European Union JHA - Justice and Home Affairs LAR – Law on Asylum and Refugees NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization NGO - Non-Governmental Organization SAR - State Agency for Refugees SEA - Single European Act SPRAR - Sistema di Protezione per Richiedenti Asilo e Refugiati Protection (System for Refugees and Asylum Seekers) 6 | P a g e “We must not allow Europe to fall into a moral crisis, a crisis of lack of solidarity, a crisis of values.” Rosen Plevneliev President of the Republic of Bulgaria1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background and Current State of Affairs In 2011, the political upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa became a reason for an unprecedented number of people to flee their country. The migratory influx that crossed the borders of the European Union (EU) challenged the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). The attempt of the EU to speak with one voice and to find a common solution to the crisis failed since reaching a consensus among the Member States was currently impossible. The unwillingness of some Member States to agree with a fair share of the migration burden eroded the unity in the EU. The divisions of opinion and the different attitude and actions of the EU countries towards the migratory influx and the secondary movements from Member State of first arrival provoked serious debates at EU level. Hence, the migration crisis, by “crossing” the European borders, turned to be a reason for disunity of the EU.2 Furthermore, this raised important questions about the nature, significance, and pitfalls of one of the Union’s fundamental values, legal and political principles - solidarity. In the recent decades, the notion of solidarity could be found in various contexts – for example, environmental solidarity, financial solidarity, social solidarity, asylum solidarity. The concept of solidarity exists in the EU legal order since the very beginning of the European integration idea. Solidarity could be initially found in those fields of 1 Speech to the European Parliament on June 8, 2016 2 Munchau, W., 2017. 7 | P a g e EU law that were harmonised. For instance, references to the principle were made in the iron and steel sector and later in the agriculture and fisheries. 3 The concept gradually received more significance with the Treaty of Maastricht when it was mentioned in the context of the economic and social cohesion policy, the common external and security policy and in the Declaration on Asylum.4 The common rules that governed the harmonised policy fields were based on the solidarity rationale, which meant that in return of their competences, the Member States are receiving from the EU equal treatment, rights and obligations.5 However, that was not the case with those sectors that were partially harmonised, for instance, environment and disaster management.6 The term environmental solidarity is linked with the common aspirations of the Member States to ensure the protection of the environment. Solidarity has been widely mentioned in EU environmental law and policy documents related to climate change, energy, sustainable development
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