Refugees and asylum seekers, the crisis in Europe and the future of policy

SUMMARYThe recent asylum crisis has highlighted the inadequacies of European asylum policies. 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. Analysis of key facts and data includes the determinants of asylum applications and trends in public opinion. In this light I evaluate the feasibility of three elements for reform: first, implementing tougher border controls to reduce unauthorised entry; second, promoting direct resettlement of refugees from countries of first asylum; and third, expanding refugee-hosting capacity through enhanced burden-sharing among destination countries.