An analysis of the Commission's proposed Asylum and Migration Management Regulation and its effects on secondary movements of asylum seekers within the EU

Abstract

On the 23rd of September of 2020, the European Commission presented a New Pact on Migration and Asylum, a reform package comprising of nine instruments, one of which is the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation. This proposed Regulation intends to reform the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), abolish the current Dublin system which is said to be inefficient and unfair, and also establish a new solidarity mechanism. This study focuses on the proposed Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, with the aim of understanding better how the CEAS is going to be reformed, what will replace the Dublin system, and what the innovative solidarity mechanism will involve. Moreover, since deterring secondary movements have been a cornerstone of the Dublin system, this study will also analyse how the proposed Asylum and Migration Management Regulation will affect the secondary movements of asylum-seekers within the EU. In order to analyse the draft regulation, this study makes use of the doctrine methodology and also of secondary data such as articles, commentaries and opinions by various stakeholders and legal expertise. The emerging findings show that the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation raises some fundamental rights concerns with respect to the right of an effective remedy, transfers, and the asylum-seekers' reception conditions. With regards to the secondary movements of asylum-seekers within the EU, it is submitted that the proposed regulation will hardly have any effect since some of the articles within the proposed regulation, which intend to limit secondary movements, may instead encourage these movements. Furthermore, there is a concern that the solidarity mechanism may be too complex to work in reality.