The Policy Brief addresses the challenges and shortcomings of current European migration policy, in particular the ‘race to the bottom’ between member states, against the backdrop of an intensifying migration debate in Germany. More and more EU member states are resorting to restrictive measures, from externalization agreements and internal border controls to suspending the right to asylum altogether, which leads to an increasingly uneven distribution of migrants across Europe. National solo efforts and populist rhetoric undermine solidarity within the EU and erode rule of law. Many of these measures are symbolic in nature and fail to achieve their intended effect. It would be more expedient to work towards a common European solution that ensures fair asylum procedures and humane conditions for refugees in all member states. Germany could act as a role model here, in particular by implementing the recently adopted reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and striving towards a greater involvement of EU institutions to monitor and enforce asylum standards.
This Policy Brief is currently available in German only.