European solidarity for asylum seekers?

Corinne BALLEIX Political scientist, author of Politique migratoire de l’Union européenne [vc_btn title= »Télécharger l’article » style= »outline » color= »blue » align= »right » i_icon_fontawesome= »fa fa-file-pdf-o » add_icon= »true »] The number of asylum seekers is climbing to historic highs in Europe. The European Commission has proposed a joint, solidarity-based approach to tackling the crisis. But are the Member States willing to accept the introduction of burden-sharing mechanisms? Based on what criteria? Consequent to the long-term crises on Europe’s doorstep, 625,000 people applied for asylum in the European Union in 2014 according to Eurostat (1), compared with fewer than 435,000 in 2013. Lying on the external borders of the European Union, Italy received 65,000 asylum applications, Hungary 43,000 and Greece 9,500. But some other Member States reported far larger numbers of applications: 203,000 in Germany, 81,000 in Sweden, 63,000 in France. Conversely, Estonia received only 155 applications, Slovakia 330 and Latvia 375. In theory, migration policy should be based on