The Covid-19 pandemic threw European asylum systems into a state of chaos. In spite of international and EU laws that lay out the parameters of humanitarian protection, domestic politics and agendas have been calling the shots. Asylum seekers remain stuck at borders, in overcrowded and unsanitary camps, or stranded at sea. In the pandemic summer of 2020, more migrants came to Italy and Spain than in the summer before. While some Italian, French, and German officials promote sharing responsibility for caring for migrants and asylum seekers among themselves and NGOs, the Dutch government, among others, has halted the processing of asylum claims. This task force asks how the European asylum systems should be reformed to protect vulnerable refugees, taking the crisis of the pandemic as an opportunity to change.
JSIS 495G Kathie Friedman – The EU Response to Migration and Asylum in the Time of Covid
Rethinking EU Policy Towards Refugees and Asylum Seekers in a Time of Emergency


Evaluator

Jeff Crisp
Research Associate, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, and Associate Fellow, Chatham House
Task Force
- Alonso, Gabriella
- Blair, Rachel
- Brekkan, Sofia
- Haile, Milena
- Han, Leah
- Jacob, Sarah
- Jo, Danbi
- Phillips, Stephanie
- Pholkosol, Chayaporn
- Rabus, Katherine
- Saunders, Emma
- Schmitz, Sarah
- Schwartzkopff, Max
- Siemers, Alena
- Swayne, Aidan
- Valencia, Galilea