Anmerkungen:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments January 6, 2020 erstellt
Beschreibung:
2019 was an important year in Mediterranean migration. In late November, 213 migrants were allowed to disembark at the Sicilian port of Messina based on the EU's 'Malta declaration' of September 23. It was the first time that an NGO search-and-rescue operation was explicitly part of a plan worked out by the EU Commission and four member countries – Germany, France, Italy, and Malta. A limited 'coalition of the willing' took a step that points in the right direction. From a practical point of view, the focus was on disembarkation and relocation; from a legal perspective, the aim was to alter the controversial Dublin First Country Rule. To be truly successful, however, additional steps are necessary, at sea and on land. There is a need for a common interpretation of SAR zones, for adequate NGO rules, for agreeing on relocation quotas as well as asylum responsibilities, and finally, for organizing joint repatriation procedures. Should such steps prove to be impossible, it is likely that the effort will go down in history as a well-meant initiative that failed. The purpose of this article is to take a closer look at the new policy by concentrating mainly on EU involvement in the past, the present, and the future