The course addresses two complementary areas of EU law. Firstly, it explains the policy considerations and legal concepts related to asylum law as developed in the EU’s Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Secondly, the course addresses other aspects of the European Union’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice relevant for understanding EU migration law in the broader sense. (Schengen, human smuggling, regular migration of third country nationals). The training will explain the challenges of policy formulation and regulation of asylum matters, and it is within this context that the course will address the EU’s difficulties in responding to the large-scale movements of 2015-2016, as well as the EU’s approach to tackling the recent Ukrainian ‘refugee crisis’. A look at the New Pact on Migration and Asylum will reveal if it can serve as a new start. The much broader questions about the EU’s future, identity and responsibility will also be addressed.

Participants at the end of this course will have a good understanding of

EU legal and policy concepts related to asylum and migration
The challenges of balancing fundamental rights protection of individuals with the principle of solidarity among Member States and the policy, legal and jurisprudential responses to these challenges