Thesis 100dpi

DUBLIN REGULATION
The Dublin Regulation is a European Union (EU) law that determines
which EU Member State is responsible for examining the applications
of asylum seekers requesting international protection under the Geneva
Convention and the EU Qualification Directive.
The Convention was formed with two principle objectives: to prevent
an asylum seeker from submitting applications in multiple Member
States , and to reduce the number of ‘‘orbiting applicants‘‘ who are
shuttled from member state to member state.
The worsening of the refugee crisis has exposed deficiencies in the
Dublin Regulation. On August 27, 2015, after participating in the
Western Balkans Summit, German chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out
at a press conference. She stated that the Dublin Regulation “doesn’t
work” and that we “need a common response for Europe as a whole”.
What followed was the partial suspension of the regulation and “fair
distribution” of refugees in Europe.
82 REFUGIUM
There are basically
three important weaknesses
of the Regulation:
it does not work
fairly, it is inefficient
and jeopardizes refugees’
rights.
1. NOT FAIR
First, it does not work fairly. The “first country of arrival” policy disproportionately
burdens the border countries (Italy, Greece and Hungary
in the current crisis). Registering in the first country of arrival means
being unable to seek asylum in other member states, or run the risk of
being returned.
2. INEFFICIENT
Secondly, the Dublin Regulation is inefficient. Despite the rule that the
first country of arrival is responsible for the asylum seeker, most of the
applicants seek asylum in a different country to the one in which they
arrived. For example, according to Eurostat and Frontex statistics, only
64,625 of the 170,000 irregular arrivals in Italy sought asylum there. In
2013, more than a third of the asylum claims were made by people
who had previously applied in another European Union country. Of
those, 11 percent applied in Italy and did so again in Germany, Sweden
or Switzerland.
The preferences of asylum seekers are often linked to personal issues
such as presence of family and friends in a certain country, or knowledge
of the language. The receiving countries often differ in terms of
reception conditions as well as social and economic rights. Refugees
avoid seeking status in countries that do not recognize refugees or
lack efficient reception facilities (e.g., Spain).
Some countries resorted to returning refugees to the previous country.