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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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supranational control of EU refugee and migra-
tion policy seems unlikely, although recent indi-
vidual policies giving Frontex and EASO more
coordinated competences indicate a certain
move in this direction. In a system with a more
supranational approach, in which the EU could
overcome its fragmentation and control the
movement of refugees effectively and in line
with international law, EU policy could even
help improve global protection of refugees.
However, this is unlikely, given the contextual
factors mentioned above: public opinion and
upcoming elections in important member
states.
The content of EU refugee policy can be
analysed in terms of three related circles. Listed
in order of focus from external to internal is-
sues, the following areas can be distinguished
(Bendel, 2016):
1. Cooperation with refugees’ countries of ori-
gin and transit.
2. Verifying and monitoring transit routes and
external border controls.
3. Lastly, within the European Union and its
member states, all measures regarding regis-
tration, admission and distribution of refu-
gees, and all rights to which they are entitled
as soon as they reach the territory of a mem-
ber state.
The focus of this policy has increasingly
moved to external issues. It originally focused
on internal and justice policy, before succes-
sively concentrating more on external, security
and defence policy, and the latest changes since
2015 have further intensified this change.
Various content questions arise, particularly re-
garding the outsourcing of the European re-
sponsibility to provide protection. Also, apart
from on internal and justice policy, the European
Parliament has hardly any co-determination
rights, and EU member states often lack a
shared position and the ability to strengthen
third countries in conflict resolution, promotion
of democracy and development. This text fol-
lows the three concentric circles. It will describe
recent developments and address the question
of how human and refugee rights can be pro-
tected and guaranteed.
Cooperation with refugees’ countries of
origin and transit
Considerable commitment is required at a
European and international level to plan a for-
ward-looking refugee policy and to tackle the
causes of refugee migration by guaranteeing sta-
bility, the rule of law and opportunities for par-
ticipation in countries of origin. Based on better
data and on predictions like those made by the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), Frontex and the European Asylum
Support Office (EASO) predictions of refugee
movement patterns and a quicker mechanism to
effectively process any future inflows, coordinate
the efforts of member states and maintain re-
serves for large flows of refugees.
In any case, it is vital that the EU and its
member states continue to push for global dis-
tribution of responsibility for the issue of refu-
gees. Many observers were disappointed to see
that the first high-level plenary session of the
United Nations General Assembly on refugees
and migration in September 2016 was not able
to establish this principle in a binding way. Two
global compacts to be negotiated by 2018 (the
Global Compact for Refugees, and the Global
Compact for Safe, Regular and Orderly
Migration) should now replace previous ad hoc
reactions to large flows of refugees with regu-
lated processes and prevent a disproportion-
ately high load falling on individual host