Abstract: The Insight delves into the CJEU judgment of WS et al. v Frontex, the first action for damages against the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, for human rights violations at the EU's external borders. Despite the prevalence of systemic violations and heightened attention to the agency's...

Abstract: The conflict in Ukraine, triggered by the Russia’s act of aggression in March 2014 and, in full scale, in February 2022, has had a profound impact on the human rights situation not only in Ukraine itself but also in the Member States of the European Union. This impact manifests itself in three main areas. The first area concerns the...

Abstract: The Russian aggression in Ukraine led to the activation of the 2001 Temporary Protection Directive by the European Union to organise the reception of displaced persons fleeing the conflict. This is an unprecedented move, in the twenty years of its existence, this directive has never been implemented. It is therefore interesting to observe...

Abstract: This Insight examines the discourse surrounding the instrumentalisation of migration and its impact on monitoring the EU’s external borders. It analyses the regulatory response, focusing on the Instrumentalisation Regulation, to determine if an exceptional emergency response is justified. The article explores recent arguments...

Abstract: Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland have amended their legislation to respond to the increased migration flows caused by the policies of instrumentalisation of migrants implemented by the Belarusian government. This Insight illustrates these responses and shows how these EU Member States instrumentalised border tensions with Belarus to...

Abstract: In X v Udlændingenævnet, the Court of Justice dealt with a Danish provision requiring a Turkish worker, legally resident in Denmark, to successfully pass a language test as a necessary condition to provide his spouse with a residence permit for the purpose of family reunification. The Court claimed that said legislation...

Abstract: The global reform of the EU migration policy envisaged in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum is stalling. The increased number of arrivals from Belarus gave the European Commission the opportunity to change its approach in attempting to reform the European migration management. The Belarus crisis, influenced by the active involvement of...

Abstract: In recent years the EU and its Member States have claimed to be increasingly targeted by “weaponised” migration. Due to the contemporary sensitivity of migration-related issues in the EU, neighbouring states are supposedly using the threat of increased migration to force the Union’s hand in other policy areas. Below, several recent...

Abstract: A series of challenges and crises have highlighted the deficits of the ‘Schengen Αrea’ both regarding its external and internal borders. This resulted in the undermining of trust between the Member States which is essential to sustain an area free from internal borders. Thus, the EU Commission presented in December 2021 new rules to...

Abstract: Art. 2(2)(a) of the Directive 2008/115/EC (Return Directive) provides the conditions whereby the Member States can derogate from some provisions of the directive itself. An amendment to remove this clause is under discussion before the European Parliament, as part of the negotiations on the directive’s recast. Derogations from the scope of...