Countering the Instrumentalization of Migrants as an Element of the External Dimension of EU Immigration Policy

The problem of the instrumentalisation of migrants has a long history, but within the EU it was noticed only after the events on the EU-Belarus border in 2021. The Commission prepared a package of legislative proposals, which, among other things, gives Member States the opportunity to derogate from the current asylum rules. These provisions caused a negative reaction from a number of member states, the expert community and non-governmental organizations. The purpose of this article is to identify the reasons for the legislative implementation of the concept of in-strumentalisation of migrants, to identify the key characteristics of the relevant provisions, as well as their compliance with the current rules of the Common European Asylum System and the international obligations of member states. The author comes to the conclusion that the preparation of proposals in the field of countering the use of immigrants was carried out in conditions where the increased securitisation of migration policy coincided with a significant deterioration in EU relations with Russia and Belarus. For this reason, this proposal is politically motivated. An analysis of the proposed measures suggests that they could lead to unjustified differentiation of asylum seekers solely on the ground that they entered into EU from the territory of certain third country. In addition, the provisions of the proposal will contribute to further legal uncertainty and lower asylum standards. The proposed legislative measures are unlikely to solve the problem of immigration in EU, but can increase tensions in relations with neighboring countries.

instrumentalization of migrants, European Union, asylum, migration, border, Belarus, Finland, Russia