EPIM Policy Update July 2016

EPIM Policy Updates are developed as a resource for organisations interested in European policy developments in the area of migration and integration. The European Policy Centre (EPC), a Brussels-based think tank, has been commissioned to produce these Policy Updates, which are released five times a year.

EPIM Policy Updates address topics relevant to EPIM’s Thematic Funds: Immigration Detention; Reforming the Common European Asylum System; Children and Youth on the Move; Mobile EU Citizens’ Access to Rights; and Building Inclusive European Societies.

This edition’s special focus is dedicated to the Franco-German proposal for a stronger Europe, in which the Foreign Ministers of France and Germany put forward demands and plans on, among other priorities, how to achieve a Common European Asylum System. Although it achieved limited visibility and its impact is uncertain, this revitalisation of Franco-German relations does warrant a closer look.

Other key highlights of this Policy Update include:

• A new section on EU funding opportunities;
• The new Migration Partnership Framework for cooperation with third countries;
• The political agreement on the European Border and Coast Guard;
• An analysis of the potential impact of Brexit on the CEAS and EU/UK citizens;
• The rulings by the European Court of Justice on the detention of persons subject to a return procedure and the rights of asylum seekers in the realm of Dublin transfers;
• The publication of the European Commission’s Second Implementation Report on the EU-Turkey deal which notes a sharp decrease in the number of irregular migrants and asylum seekers crossing from Turkey into Greece;
• A closer look at the ‘Recent developments at the Bulgarian border’, by the EPIM grantee organization Center for Legal Aid – Voice in Bulgaria.