| CODE | EST5510 | |||||||||
| TITLE | European Union Migration and Asylum Law | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | Not Applicable | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | European Studies | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | Migration has topped the political agenda of the EU and its Member States for the past years and drastically changed the EU political landscape. Migration and asylum are policy areas with one of the highest levels of support for EU level involvement. The EU has become a major destination for migrants due to the interplay between several push and pull factors. Push factors include political and social instability, economic challenges and demographic trends in countries of origin while pull factors include increased economic renewal and opportunities coupled with a stronger framework for those who seek protection in the EU. Migrants often have to resort to irregular means of entry facilitated by smugglers, putting their lives at high risk to escape war, persecution, poverty, or to join their families, find work, or seek knowledge and education. Mindful of the internal and external policy dimensions of migration and asylum, for the past years, the EU has embarked on the difficult process to create a legal and policy framework to better manage migration flows and potential crises. This includes the reform of the Common European Asylum System, the strengthening of the EU external border, a focus on cooperation with third countries on migration and asylum, including for return and readmission purposes, and increased legal entry channel to the EU though resettlement, mobility and private sponsorship. Study-unit Aims: The aim of this study-unit is to provide an analysis of how the EU policy on migration and asylum is shaped and implemented. The study-unit also examines the relevant EU and international legal framework and policies, together with the role played by the key institutional partners post Lisbon Treaty in their design and implementation. Analyses of relevant EU migration and asylum statistics and contextual elements are performed. Specific focus is placed on the aspects of legal migration and irregular migration, integration and return, and EU external cooperation with third countries on migration. The study unit analyses the development of the Common European Asylum System and its external dimension, its ongoing reform and its impact on the wider EU migration policies. For increased interest and relevance, the study-unit regularly focuses on the Mediterranean region. The study-unit seeks to inform students of the challenges faced by the EU and by the EU Member States, in particular since the 2015 migration crisis, and to evaluate the policies and measures adopted so far. Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - identify and appraise the relevant research portals, methods and resources; - keep abreast with migration/asylum development and news and integrate such news into their understanding of the subject; - discuss migration asylum issues from a broad EU perspective that takes into account legal, social, political and cultural perspectives - understand key concepts and principles relating to international migration and asylum; - contextualise the EU within the broader international migration/asylum framework so as to understand its relevance and the impact of its policies/legislation; - understand and analyse EU efforts to manage migration; - understand and anayse EU asylum policies; - compare EU/EU MS migration/asylum policies with relevant international obligations. Reading List: - European Agency for Fundamental Rights (2014), Handbook on European law relating to asylum, borders and immigration http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2013/handbook-european-law-relating-asylum-borders-and-immigration - European Migration Network (2018), Asylum and Migration Glossary https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/what we do/networks/european_migration_network/docs/interactive_glossary_6.0_final_version.pdf - International Organisation for Migration (2018), World Migration Report http://www.iom.int/wmr/world-migration-report-2018 - EASO Annual Report on the Situation of Asylum in the EU 2017 http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/easo/annual-report-2017/en/ - E. Guild (2014), The First Decade of EU migration and asylum law – available in the European Documentation Centre at the Institute for European Studies - Time for Reform? Refugees, Asylum-seekers, and Protection Under International Human Rights Law, Colin Harvey Refugee Survey Quarterly, Volume 34, Issue 1, 1 March 2015, Pages 43–60, https://academic.oup.com/rsq/article/34/1/43/1579088 - European Parliament (2017), Special Eurobarometer of the European Parliament 2017 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/priorities/eurobarometer-2017 - Eurostat asylum data 2017 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/asylum-and-managed-migration/publications - Notre Europe, July 2017, European public opinion and the EU following the peak of the migration crisis http://www.institutdelors.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/europeanpublicopinionandtheeu-debomy-june2017.pdf?pdf=ok - European Migration Network, May 2018 Annual report on migration and asylum EU 2017 - Notre Europe, December 2017 Turning the tide on EU migration policy http://institutdelors.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/turningthetideinthemediterranean-feller-dec17.pdf - European Political Strategy Centre, December 2017, 10 trends shaping migration http://ec.europa.eu/epsc/sites/epsc/files/epsc_-_10_trends_shaping_migration_-_web.pdf - Centre for European Policy Studies, June 2018, Flexible solidarity: A comprehensive strategy for asylum and immigration in the EU. - Overseas Development Institute, Chatham House, June 2017, Understanding public attitudes towards refugees and migrants. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Failure in submitting the Seminar Paper or an unjustified absence in the Examination will result in an overall fail. Class attendance is obligatory, as this is a seminar based course and assessment depends on class participation. Should a student miss more than two seminars, the lecturer may refuse to allow the student to do the Assignment. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Seminar | |||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Mark Mark Emanuel Camilleri |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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