Järjestelmä, oikeudelliset reunaehdot vai järjestelmään kohdistuvat odotukset? EU:n turvapaikkajärjestelmän vanhentumisen kolme tasoa
Avainsanat:
EU-oikeus, siirtolaispolitiikka, turvapaikkaoikeus, ulkomaalaiset, turvapaikanhakijat, ihmisoikeudetAbstrakti
Lakimies-aikakauskirjan parhaan kirjoituksen palkinto 2022
System, legal framework, or expectations? The three levels of obsolescence of the EU asylum system
The article analyses the possible obsolescence of the EU asylum system. In public debate, it is often claimed that the system no longer corresponds to today’s demands. The author argues that this criticism conflates three levels of obsolescence: That of the system, that of the legal framework on which the system is based, and that of the expectations towards the system. Each of these levels is separately analysed in the article. The author argues that criticism towards the EU asylum system is justified, as the system suffers from several weaknesses. Furthermore, the legal framework can be considered outdated, but selectively withdrawing from it is impossible. The article concentrates on analysing the third level of obsolescence, that is, the outdating of expectations towards the system that has not been adequately addressed in the criticism. The asylum system cannot be seen as a static system that asylum seekers and third countries abuse from the outside. The difficulties of reforming the asylum system highlight how law and politics are intertwined; the system has become a tool of political pressure, knowingly manipulated by the EU, too. Manipulation of the system manifests in several interconnected trends – instrumentalisation, securitisation, externalisation, and informalisation – that the article illustrates by reference to the informal readmission arrangements between the EU and third countries. Such manipulation complicates any realistic possibilities of reform.
