Abstract: This Insight discusses the Court of Justice’s judgment of 14 May 2020 in the joined cases C-924/19 and C-925/19, which concerned two couples of asylum seekers detained in the Röszke transit zone, at the Hungarian-Serbian border. The analysis focuses on the approach followed by the Court, that has addressed several issues under EU...

Abstract: This Insight assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the external borders of the EU. It first presents measures enacting the EU travel ban and also their implications on the European asylum system, as implemented by Member States’ administrations. In this context, it discusses some of the challenges which emerge: these...

Abstract: In the case Commission v. Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic (judgment of 20 April 2020, joined cases C-715/17, C-718/17 and C-719/17), the Court of Justice clarified the scope of Art. 72 TFEU in the context of relocation of applicants for international protection during the 2015 “refugee crisis”. The Court held that it is not...

Abstract: It is of course too early to draw conclusions about the European Union’s response to the COVID-19 crisis in its Member States while we are still in the midst of the health crisis. On the other hand, it is already possible to correct the widely shared first impression that European solidarity had been shattered. The available public data...

Abstract: The Insight analyses the wave of internal border control reintroductions following the COVID-19 outbreak. It addresses the relevant legal framework and discusses the possible implications for the Schengen Area, in the light of the recent practice of highly disputed prorogations of border controls and of the pending reform of the...

Keywords: COVID-19 and the EU – European Solidarity – EU Values – EU Policies – EU Competences – New Research Paths.
 

On 13 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Europe the active centre of the COVID-19 pandemic. One month later, on 14 April 2020, several European Union Member States were...

Abstract: The present Insight looks at the EU and the international law framework concerning trade measures in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on export restrictions. As is shown, the legal framework is fairly permissive with regard to EU Member States, but also the EU as an international actor. Taking into account economics–...

Abstract: Restrictions on movement imposed in all Member States have necessarily resulted in a restriction of free movement rights of Union citizens, albeit in an incidental manner. These restrictions are nonetheless facilitated by the relevant provisions of primary and secondary law. This is appropriate in light of the multi-level system of...

Abstract: This Insight explores the interaction between the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the national authorities in the EU border and asylum regulatory framework of the ‘hotspot approach’. Although the mandate of EASO foresees that the agency is merely to provide support and assistance to the competent authorities in relation...

Keywords: UNRWA – asylum – inadmissibility of application – exclusion – first country of asylum – ex nunc examination.
 

Directive 2011/95[1] establishes in Art. 12 exclusion cases from refugee status, which include cases where the applicant is under the “...