The Informalisation of the EU's External Action in the Field of Migration and Asylum
Series: Global Europe: Legal and Policy Issues of the EU’s External Action Book Series

This contributed volume examines the trend whereby the EU resorts ever more often to informal arrangements and deals with third countries in an effort to curb and manage migration flows towards the EU and facilitate the return of irregular migrants to their countries of origin or transit. The perceived success of the EU-Turkey deal provided a strong impetus for the continuation of this trend.

The contributions collected and presented in this book aim to shed light on the implications of this trend for the EU constitutional order, the human rights of those affected by these deals, the third countries with which the EU cooperates, and the global refugee protection regime. They demonstrate how these deals raise more issues than they solve; by, for instance, sidestepping established Treaty rules and procedures, violating the human rights of those affected, and overburdening the nascent migration and asylum systems of third country partners.

This book, the first volume to appear in the Global Europe Series, will be of great interest to researchers and policy makers working in the field of migration and asylum.

Eva Kassoti and Narin Idriz work in the Research Department of the T.M.C. Asser Institute in The Hague.

Specific to this book:

• Contains contributions dealing with the subject matter in a comprehensive way
• Aside from constitutional, human rights and global implications, the impact on third countries is covered
• The impact on third countries is examined by authors hailing from the region

This is the first volume in the Global Europe: Legal and Policy Issues of the EU's External Action Book Series

Excerpts from a recent book review:

‘(…) the book offers a comprehensive analysis of the Union’s external actionsconcerning migration and asylum matters. At the core of this analysis lies a dedicated examination of the perceptible upward trajectory of informalization within this policy domain.’

‘The book serves as an instructive elucidation of the complexities and challenges thataccompany the EU’s evolving strategy concerning the management of migration and asylum. This strategy entails an escalating reliance upon informal arrangements with third countries. Within this context, the book perceptively discerns the inherent interconnections among these thematic elements, underscoring that foundational principles such as transparency and thesafeguarding of human rights bear dual significance. These principles not only constitute essential tenets of the EU’s constitutional legal architecture but also assume critical relevance asimperatives within the realm of human rights.’

- Review by Ülkü Sezgi Sözen, Hamburg (to be published in Common Market Law Review, Wolters Kluwer Law)