[Online symposium] Informalisation of the EU’s external action in the fields of migration and asylum

This week, the constitutional law blog, Verfassungsblog, is holding a symposium on the legal and policy implications of the increased informalisation of the EU’s external action in the field of migration and asylum. This trend, and topic of an upcoming interdisciplinary conference co-organised by ACES and the Asser Institute, poses significant constitutional challenges for the EU legal order. It further affects individuals and the global regime for refugee protection. Over the course of this week, seven blogs on this topic will be posted on the Verfassungsblog. 

The first two blog posts focus on the constitutional implications of informalisation. In her blog post Caterina Molinari (Institute for European Law) looks into the implications of EU readmission deals on the constitutional allocation of powers. Andrea Ott (Maastricht University) asks whether the trend towards informalisation in EU law can be considered a ‘contamination.’ 

The next three contributions look at the implications of informalisation on the protection of fundamental rights. Asser researcher Narin Idriz examines this issue in the context of the EU-Turkey migration deal while Ayşe Dicle Ergin (Bilkent University) analyses the situation that unfolded earlier this year on the Greece-Turkey border, when Turkey announced that it was opening its borders to Europe. In her contribution, Aysel Küçüksu (University of Copenhagen) notes the apparent lack of concern for human rights in the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union. 

The last two contributions shed light on the effects of informalisation on the international system of protection of refugees. The blog post by Emanuela Roman (Forum for International and European Research on Immigration) looks at how informal migration agreements affect international responsibility sharing, in particular the EU’s increasing trend towards ‘externalisation’ (placing the responsibility for accepting asylum seekers onto third states). Finally, Suna Gülfer Ihlamur (Marmara University) places the migration crisis in an historical and international context and even considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on refugee populations. 

To read these blog posts, please stay tuned to the Verfassungsblog. 

About the online conference on migration deals and their damaging effects 

On the 8th to the 9th of October 2020, the Amsterdam Centre for European Studies (ACES) and the T.M.C. Asser Instituut will co-organise a free  interdisciplinary online conference on the implications of the increasing use of informal (non-binding) instruments in the field of migration. The conference will examine issues raised by the prevalent use of migration deals and informal arrangements between the EU and third countries in an effort to manage migration flows. 

To learn more about the online migration conference, click here, or click here to register. 

Project leaders

Narin Idriz is a researcher at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut. She is part of the research strand Advancing public interests in international and European law, which examines how international and European law may further the protection of public interests in a globalising and privatising world. Narin's research areas of interest are EU external relations, EU-Turkey association law, enlargement law, protection of fundamental rights in the EU in general, and the rights of Third Country Nationals, in particular, EU asylum and migration law and policies. 

Dr Eva Kassoti is a senior researcher in International and EU Law as well as the academic coordinator for the Centre of the Law of EU External Relations (CLEER) at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut. Along with Dr Narin Idriz,  she is leading the Global Europe Project which is part of the research strand ‘Advancing Public Interests in International and European Law’.