A reform of the European Union’s policy on migration and asylum with specific reference to the Asylum Procedures Directive (Directive 2013/32/EU)

Abstract

The Common European Asylum System has become a thorny issue for the Member States of the European Union. Despite various attempts to harmonize the legal framework with regards to migration and asylum policies, the EU has not yet achieved such goal. The latest reforms in migration and asylum policy introduced by the EU are expected to foresee that Member States fulfil their obligation of offering international protection to asylum seekers. This dissertation will specifically assess from a legal point of view how the EU reforms of the Asylum Procedures, as well as their respective implementation in the various Member States, have affected the efficiency and fairness of asylum procedures. Therefore, a thorough assessment is made of the Asylum Procedures Directive (Directive 2013/32/EU) and how its amendments have strived to establish a fully harmonised common EU procedure for international protection leading to a proposal to repeal Directive 2013/32/EU. This dissertation also seeks to evaluate Europe’s duty to provide international protection to those who need it by addressing the issue of Member States which are practically at the doorstep of a Third Country and which find themselves under constant pressure to avoid any loss of lives of irregular immigrants. The extent to which the harmonisation and the consequences of Member States which do not fulfil their obligations regarding irregular immigrants is examined under the light of the rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the role of EU agencies such as the European Union Asylum Agency regarding this issue and the inadequacies of such regulations. The repercussions of such pressure on Member States are heightened by the EU's slow improvement. Long term solutions are urgently required and what is being proposed by the European Commission may not achieve that fully.