Securitising solidarity : the case of the Mediterranean migration crisis

Abstract

In the last few years, the EU’s management of the so-called Mediterranean migration crisis has proved rather ineffective and has eventually highlighted the inherent contradictions of the EU migration and asylum policy. Consequently, according to Article 78 and 80 TFEU, several calls for solidarity have been issued in order to provide assistance to front-line Member States, migrants and asylum seekers, as well as to reform the asylum system. Yet, such proposals have met the resistance of some Member States and led to the emergence of perspectives and practices which may impact on the European integration process and the compliance with human rights regimes. This work analyses why the implementation of the principle of solidarity has met so many oppositions, and suggests that the securitarian ethos that has long marked EU migration and asylum policy might provide a useful theoretical framework to understand this process.