The number of refugees and migrants arriving by sea in Europe is on the rise. According to unhcr, more than one million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe by sea in 2015, whereas more than 3700 people lost their lives while trying to reach the European shores. As a response to the migration crisis, the eu has adopted a number of policies as proposed by the European Commission in the Ten point Action Plan on Migration and the European Agenda on Migration. This was followed by adoption of the second implementation package of the Agenda and initiation of eu-Turkey Joint Action Plan on migration management. In the light of the increasing number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea, this article examines the policies adopted by the eu in 2015 to cope with the migration crisis in Europe, whether the Council Directive 2001/55/ec of 20 July 2001 on Minimum Standards for Giving Temporary Protection (Temporary Protection Directive) can be implemented to cope with the arrival of the mixed flows and the reason why this Directive can play a key role in solving the migration crisis. Through evaluation of these issues, this article argues that the Temporary Protection Directive should be part of the eu response to the migration crisis as it would provide crucial benefits to both Member States as well as persons seeking refuge in the eu.
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Between 1998 and 2012, more than 16 000 people are known to have died attempting to migrate to the European Union. See S. McBain (2013), ‘eu Immigration Policy is Contributing to Sahara Migrant Deaths’, New Statesman (1 November 2013), available online at http://www.newStatesman.com/world-affairs/2013/11/eu-immigration-policy-contributing-sahara-migrant-deaths (accessed 30 December 2015).
Ibid., pp. 225–232.
This is as of 30 December 2015. unhcr, Refugees/Migrants Emergency Response – Mediterranean (note 2).
H. Smith (2015), ‘Shocking images of drowned Syrian boy show tragic plight of refugees’, The Guardian (2 September 2015), available online at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/shocking-image-of-drowned-syrian-boy-shows-tragic-plight-of-refugees (accessed 30 December 2015).
S. Peers (2015), ‘The eu response to migrant deaths: protection and prevention – or policy laundering’, eu Law Analysis (22 April 2015), available online at http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-eu-response-to-migrant-deaths.html (accessed 30 December 2015); Human Rights Watch (2015), ‘eu ten-point plan not adequate response to deaths at sea’ (22 April 2015), available online at https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/22/eu-ten-point-plan-not-adequate-response-deaths-sea (accessed 30 December 2015); Associated Press (2015), ‘A look at the eu’s 10 point emergency migrant action plan’, New York Times (21 April 2015), available online at http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/04/21/world/europe/ap-eu-europe-migrants-action-plan.html?_r=0 (accessed 30 December 2015).
Ibid., pp. 6–18.
Ibid., p. 3.
Ibid., p. 12.
Ibid., p. 13.
Ibid., p. 6.
Guild et al. (note 27), p. 15; L. Tsourdi and P. De Bruycker (2015), eu Asylum Policy: In Search of Solidarity and Access to Protection, Brussels: Migration Policy Centre, pp. 6–10.
Guild et al. (note 27), p. 18.
Guild et al. (note 27), p. 28; The un Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, noted that ‘20 000 places in the eu regional block is not an adequate response to the current crisis which in 2014 saw over 200 000 irregular migrants – a majority of whom were asylum seekers – arrived in Europe by boat’. un Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights website, Migrants: ‘eu’s Resettlement Proposal Is a Good Start but Remains Woefully Inadequate’ – un Expert (15 May 2015), available online at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=15961&LangID=E#sthash.ZXiYStoU.dpuf (accessed 30 December 2015).
Ibid., p. 4 and Annex of the European Agenda on Migration.
Ibid., pp. 4, 5.
J. Sunderland (2015), ‘Dispatches: The eu, Migration, and Learning to Share’, Human Rights Watch (21 July 2015), available online at https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/07/21/dispatches-eu-migration-and-learning-share (accessed 30 December 2015); A. Sander and E. Kim (2015), ‘eu Misses Migration Target’, Politico (20 July 2015), available online at http://www.politico.eu/article/eu-misses-migration-target-quota/ (accessed 30 December 2015).
European Commission (2015), European Commission Statement following the Decision at the Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs Council to Relocate 120,000 Refugees (22 September 2015), available online at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-15-5697_en.htm (accessed 30 December 2015).
J. Apap and A. Orav (2015), ‘Safe Countries of Origin Proposed Common eu List’, eu Parliament Briefing Note eu Legislation in Progress (8 October 2015), available online at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/569008/EPRS_BRI (2015)569008_EN.pdf (accessed 30 December 2015).
European Commission (2015), Press Release – eu-Turkey Cooperation: A €3 billion Refugee Facility for Turkey (24 November 2015), available online at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-6162_en.htm (accessed 30 December 2015).
European Commission (2015), Fact Sheet – eu-Turkey Joint Action Plan, Brussels: European Commission (15 October 2015), available online at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-15-5860_en.htm (accessed 30 December 2015).
Ibid., p. 3.
Ibid., p. 5.
Nascimbene and Di Pascale (note 64), p. 347.
Ineli-Ciger (note 9), p. 245; Guild et al. (note 27), p. 70.
Arenas (note 69), p. 439.
Commission of the European Communities (2000), Proposal for a Council Directive on minimum standards for giving temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons and on measures promoting a balance of efforts between Member States in receiving such persons and bearing the consequences thereof, Brussels: cec, 24 May 2000, com(2000) 303 final 2000/0127 (cns), p. 14.
See C. Harress (2015), ‘Germany Nearing Refugee Capacity after Huge Influx Weighs on Resources, Officials Warn’, International Business Times (13 September 2015), available online at http://www.ibtimes.com/germany-nearing-refugee-capacity-after-huge-influx-weighs-resources-officials-warn-2094426 (accessed 30 December 2015).
Council of Europe (1950), European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14, 4 November 1950, ets 5.
Ibid., pp. 4, 6.
Ibid., p. 6.
Amnesty International (2015), Greece: Humanitarian Crisis Mounts as Refugee Support System Pushed to Breaking Point (25 June 2015), available online at https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/06/greece-humanitarian-crisis-mounts-as-refugee-support-system-pushed-to-breaking-point/ (accessed 30 December 2015).
Médecins Sans Frontières (2015), Greece: Thousands of Migrants and Asylum Seekers Stranded in Precarious Conditions across Islands (20 July 2015), available online at http://www.msf.org/article/greece-thousands-migrants-and-asylum-seekers-stranded-precarious-conditions-across-islands (accessed 30 December 2015).
Fitzpatrick (note 98), p. 293; Türk (note 98); H. Storey (2014), ‘The “War Flaw” and Why it Matters’, in: D.J. Cantor and J.F. Durieux (eds), Refuge from Inhumanity? War Refugees and International Humanitarian Law, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, pp. 39–40.
Durieux and McAdam (note 71), p. 18.
J.C. Hathaway and M. Foster (2014), The Law of Refugee Status, 2nd ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 3.
A.V. Eggli (2002), Mass Refugee Influx and the Limits of Public International Law, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, p. 155.
J.C. Hathaway (2005), The Right of Refugees under International Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 119–120; A. Skordas (2011), ‘Article 7 1951 Convention’, in: A. Zimmermann, F. Machts and J. Dorschner (eds), The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol: A Commentary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 754.
Skordas (note 106), p. 740; Hathaway (note 106), p. 120.
G.S. Goodwin-Gill and J. McAdam (2007), The Refugee in International Law, 3rd edn., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 334.
M. Ineli-Ciger (2015), ‘Revisiting Temporary Protection as a Protection Option to Respond to Mass Influx Situations’, in: J.-P. Gauci, M. Giuffré and L. Tsourdi (eds), Exploring the Boundaries of Refugee Law, Current Protection Challenges, Leiden: Brill, pp. 216–217; Fitzpatrick (note 98), pp. 283, 287; V. Onken (2005), ‘The Social Implications of Temporary Protection in Light of the Imperative of Return: A Study of European Policies’, in: A. Botesta (ed.), Refugee Crises and International Response: Towards Permanent Solutions?, Białystok: Libra, p. 187.
See Ineli-Ciger (note 109), p. 213; Fitzpatrick (note 98), p. 287.
Fitzpatrick (note 98), p. 291; ExCoM Conclusion No. 22 (xxxii) ‘Protection of Asylum Seekers in Situations of Large Scale Influx’ (1981).
Ibid., p. 30.
Ibid., p. 31.
J. van Selm (1998), Refugee Protection in Europe: Lessons from the Yugoslavian Crisis, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, p. 125; A. Hans and A. Surkhe (1997), ‘Responsibility Sharing’, in: J.C. Hathaway (ed.), Reconceiving International Refugee Law, Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, p. 103.
Ineli-Ciger (note 9), p. 231.
Ibid., pp. 231–232.
Guild et al. (note 27), p. 53.
See A. Marini (2015), ‘Bulgaria: The Permanent Relocation Mechanism is Not Sustain-able’, eu Insider (14 September 2015), available online at http://www.euinside.eu/en/news/bulgaria-the-permanent-relocation-mechanism-is-not-sustainable (accessed 30 December 2015).
Ineli-Ciger (note 9), pp. 230–232.
A. Nardelli (2015), ‘eu Member States Miss Target to Relocate 40,000 Migrants’, The Guardian (21 July 2015), available online at http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2015/jul/21/eu-member-states-miss-target-to-relocate-40000-migrants (accessed 30 December 2015).
M. Holehouse (2015), ‘eu Quota Plan Forced through against Eastern European States’ Wishes’, Telegraph (23 September 2015), available online at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/11883024/Europe-ministers-agree-relocation-of-120000-refugees-by-large-majority.html (accessed 30 December 2015).
Ineli-Ciger (note 9), p. 232.
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The number of refugees and migrants arriving by sea in Europe is on the rise. According to unhcr, more than one million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe by sea in 2015, whereas more than 3700 people lost their lives while trying to reach the European shores. As a response to the migration crisis, the eu has adopted a number of policies as proposed by the European Commission in the Ten point Action Plan on Migration and the European Agenda on Migration. This was followed by adoption of the second implementation package of the Agenda and initiation of eu-Turkey Joint Action Plan on migration management. In the light of the increasing number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea, this article examines the policies adopted by the eu in 2015 to cope with the migration crisis in Europe, whether the Council Directive 2001/55/ec of 20 July 2001 on Minimum Standards for Giving Temporary Protection (Temporary Protection Directive) can be implemented to cope with the arrival of the mixed flows and the reason why this Directive can play a key role in solving the migration crisis. Through evaluation of these issues, this article argues that the Temporary Protection Directive should be part of the eu response to the migration crisis as it would provide crucial benefits to both Member States as well as persons seeking refuge in the eu.
All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 3101 | 481 | 30 |
Full Text Views | 1094 | 83 | 5 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 1470 | 145 | 18 |