THE GEOGRAPHY OF ASYLUM SEEKERS AND REFUGEES IN EUROPE (original) (raw)
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This study on the geographical distribution of asylum seekers within the European Union consists of three parts: a survey of the existing literature, an analysis of the data with regard to asylum applications in the countries of the European Union and interviews with key informants in three countries: Belgium, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. At the time of this study asylum policy was an issue in political debates all over Europe. The governments of most European countries had been confronted with a rising number of individual asylum seekers from a large number of countries. The governments and politicians in these European countries wonder whether their countries may be too attractive for asylum seekers. All countries have the fear of taking in too large a share of the asylum seekers when compared to neighbouring countries. All countries have tried to limit the number of asylum applications by tightening asylum policy, introducing visa requirements and border checks, and creating presumably less favourable conditions for the reception of asylum seekers. The fact that the European Commission supported this research project indicates a growing communal concern for the harmonisation of asylum policy and a fair distribution of the burden among the European countries. With these considerations in mind, we examined the factors determining the destination for possible asylum. The research tries to answer the following questions: 1) Are asylum seekers from particular countries of origin randomly distributed among the European Union countries or are there specific patterns of origin and destination? 2) Which factors appear to explain (changes in) these patterns? 3) To what extent is the country of destination a deliberate choice by asylum seekers?
The Changing Spatiality of the " European Refugee/Migrant Crisis "
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The " European refugee/migrant crisis " is a geopolitical designation with which the media, politics and the general public have labelled the arrival of a large number of refugees into the European Union in 2015 and 2016. The article analyses the spatial distribution of asylum seekers in the European Union during the 2011–2016 period. It focuses on how changes of the border regimes on the external and internal borders of the European Union have influenced the movement of asylum seekers and the spatial distribution of asylum applications during the " crisis ". It raises attention to the growing importance of the militarisation of borders and the securitisation of migration flows for the spatial distribution of the asylum applicants. The research is based on the analysis of the Eurostat data on the total number of asylum applicants in member states between 2011 and 2016. Although changes in border regimes were not the only factor influencing the spatial distribution of asylum seekers during the " European refugee/migrant crisis " , their effects can be used to demonstrate the restrictions asylum seekers are facing on their journey. The main aim of the article is to reflect on the use of the geographical designation " Europe " / " European " in the context of the " refugee/migrant crisis ". Using this designation creates the perception of a unified, borderless space, in which individuals can freely choose their asylum destination. The discourse of " the European refugee/migrant crisis " often presents the European Union as " an open asylum shopping centre " in which asylum seekers can pick whatever host they want. The article opposes this notion and emphasises the limitations and the effect that contingency plays in the choice of asylum destination.
Data on some socio-economic parameters explaining the movement of extra-EU asylum seekers in Europe
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This article contains data concerning the movement of extra-EU asylum seekers in Europe. Data used in this paper were collected from the Eurostat database and the UNHCR database. The data consist of some socioeconomic features related to 30 European countries where extra-EU asylum seekers have applied for protection. All variables were transformed into their natural logs. The degree of statistical correlation is evaluated from Pearson's coefficient, using the 0.05 level of significance. Regression analysis is conducted to identify some socioeconomic predictors of countries attracting asylum migration. Six models are presented, where 'first time asylum applicants' in 2015 (1,324,215 individuals) in 30 European countries were regressed on 2014 predictors. The multilinear regression model was tested by using data on asylum seekers in 2014, regressed on the same predictors referred to 2013. The data here shared provide a resource for researchers working in the topical field of migration.
Asylum applications in the European Union : patterns, trends and the effects of policy measures
Journal of Refugee Studies, 1998
Statistics on asylum applications have been used in a highly selective way in the debates on refugees and asylum policies in Western Europe, to justify restrictive measures. This paper provides a more systematic analysis of these statistics. It focuses on the pattern of origins and destinations for asylum seekers in the European Union in the period 1985-1994. Asylum seekers from a particular country of origin often tend to go to a particular country within the European Union. Most of these cases can be attributed to historical ties between the sending and receiving country. When the patterns of origin and destinations are compared for separate years, it becomes clear that the destinations of asylum movements have been constantly changing. Though some of the more remarkable shifts were clearly related to policy measures in the relevant countries, many measures produced only limited effects or failed to have any effect at all.
Refugees, asylum seekers and policy in Europe
Labor Mobility and the World Economy, 2004
The number of refugees worldwide is now 12 million, up from 3 million in the early 1970s. And the number seeking asylum in the developed world increased tenfold, from about 50,000 per annum to half a million over the same period. Governments and international agencies have grappled with the twin problems of providing adequate humanitarian assistance in the Third World and avoiding floods of unwanted asylum seekers arriving on the doorsteps of the First World. This is an issue that is long on rhetoric, as newspaper reports testify, but surprisingly short on economic analysis. This paper draws on the recent literature, and ongoing research, to address a series of questions that are relevant to the debate. First, we examine the causes of refugee displacements and asylum flows, focusing on the effects of conflict, political upheaval and economic incentives to migrate. Second, we examine the evolution of policies towards asylum seekers and the effects of those policies, particularly in Europe. Finally, we ask whether greater international coordination could produce better outcomes for refugee-receiving countries and for the refugees themselves.
Studia Europejskie, 2021
This research sets out the importance of studying the refugee crisis and the phenomenon of migration, the way refugees reach European territory and in which states they aim to settle. The fi rst part of the article shows the evolution of illegal entries on the routes that refugees use to enter the European continent in the period between 2009–2018. The second part of the article aims to highlight the European States which were affected by the refugee crisis in light of the asylum requests submitted by the applicants for international protection in the EU between 2015–2018. Therefore the analysis led to the classifi cation of the European States into four clusters: (i) states with a high number of asylum applications; (ii) states with a medium to high number of asylum applications; (iii) states with a small to medium number of asylum applications; (iv) states with a small number of asylum applications. The objective of this classifi cation is to identify the states that were affected...
Asylum Flows and European Integration: The socioeconomic challenge
ERSA 2019 - Abstract Book, 2019
The cohesion of the European Union has undeniably been challenged by the recent global financial crisis, highlighting the slowing down of its integration model as well as the various dissensions between the EU member countries. At the same time, the EU is facing an additional challenge concerning the massive influx of migrants and more particularly refugees mainly due to the conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. This relatively recent situation inevitably raises the question of their reception and integration. The proper understanding of the present diversification of refugee flows during the two last decades – a type of human flow that significantly differs from economic migration flows both in terms of intensity and migratory route - could potentially contribute to develop more appropriate policies into the spatially changing European Union. In this context, the objective of the present study is, through the implementation of an augmented gravity model, to identify the spatial, sociopolitical and institutional factors lying behind the asylum flows inside the EU27 area during the 2000-2017 period. The data relative to the numbers of refugees and asylum seekers by country of origin and destination are provided by the UNHCR. In comparison with other official sources as Eurostat and Frontex, the UNHCR database is obviously the most detailed one, covering also a longer period of time. This is fundamental in order to detect the main changes during the period 2000-2017 as regards not only the countries of origin and destination but also the migratory routes. The empirical findings reveal the discouraging role of the economic crisis towards the asylum flows inside the EU. However, the improving interconnectivity between the European countries, through the gradual integration process, seems to positively contribute towards asylum assignment, demonstrating that the migration process is reshaped by the contemporary spatialities. Once again, space is not neutral: landlocked countries act as nodes to attract asylum flows, while island countries often serve as host poles for asylum seekers due to a) their relative geographic proximity to the conflict zones of the Middle East or b) their economic development levels. Finally, the demographic factor remains crucial: the population of registered refugees among the EU countries acts as an “attraction mass”, in terms of natural sciences, of new asylum applications, showing that human flows moving away from conflict zones are generally directed to countries where there exists a greater chance of asylum application approvals.
Refugees and Asylum Seekers, the Crisis in Europe and the Future of Policy
International Political Economy: Migration eJournal, 2016
The recent asylum crisis has thrown into sharp relief the inadequacies of European asylum policies and has highlighted the need for reform. The existing asylum system, which encourages migrants to make hazardous maritime or overland crossings to gain access to an uncertain prospect of obtaining refugee status, is inefficient, poorly targeted and lacks public support. In the long run it should be replaced by a substantial joint programme of refugee resettlement that would help those most in need of protection, that would eliminate the risks to refugees, and that would command more widespread public support. These arguments are built upon an analysis of key facts and data. This includes estimation of the origin and destination factors that influence asylum applications, and the effects of asylum policies adopted in developed countries. It also includes an examination of different aspects of public opinion that condition the scope for the development of asylum policies. In this light I...