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8. Touraine A. Conflits sociaux [Электронный ресурс]. Режим доступа: http://www.guillaumenicaise.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/touraine_conflits-sociaux.pdf (дата обращения: 08.01.2021).
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УДК 327
Васильева Анастасия Анатольевна Vasileva Anastasiia Anatolevna Аршадзаде Нармин Эльшад кызы Arshadzade Narmin Elshad Kyzy
Студентки Students
Санкт-Петербургский Государственный Университет
Saint-Petersburg State University
SPEAKING WITH ONE VOICE - REBUILDING THE BROKEN EU MIGRATION AND ASYLUM SYSTEM
ЕДИНОГЛАСНОСТЬ В ВОССТАНОВЛЕНИИ "СЛОМАННОЙ" ЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ МИГРАЦИОННОЙ ПОЛИТИКИ
Abstract: Migration and asylum has long been perceived as an irresistible phenomenon in the aftermath of the migration and refugee 2015 crisis in Europe. Numerous policy proposals, heated debates and the surge of the right-wing political parties has followed the politicization of this topic. The aim of this study is to analyse the past implemented actions and its effectiveness, statistical data in Europe and Russia to highlight the urgency of the unified European response. The analysis shows the reactions and contributions of the EU member states and other international actors on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, proposed by the European Commission, however the paper concludes that more extensive research is needed to examine the future developments in the European migration management.
Аннотация: В результате миграционного кризиса в 2015 году проблема мигрантов и беженцев в Европе долгое время воспринималась как непреодолимое явление. За политизацией этой проблемы последовали многочисленные политические предложения, оживленные дискуссии и всплеск активности правых партий. Целью данного исследования является анализ эффективности ранее предпринятых мер в отношении мигрантов и беженцев, а также статистических данных по Европе и России, что поможет подчеркнуть важность проблемы, которую многие европейские страны стремились совместно решить. Данное исследование показывает реакцию и вклад стран-членов ЕС, а также других международных акторов в формирование Пакта по вопросам мигрантов и беженцев, предложенного Европейской Комиссией. В заключение данного исследования авторы выделяют острую необходимость в дальнейшем анализе будущих изменений в вопросе регулирования миграционных потоков в Европе.
Ключевые слова: Пакт о миграции и убежище, управление миграцией, миграционный кризис, Европа, Россия.
Keywords: Pact on migration and asylum, migration management, migration crisis, Europe,
Russia.
Migration and asylum - the world scale challenge
We live in a time where there are substantially more displaced people in the world than there has been since the Second World War. Migration does not only challenge the European states to respond effectively, but it also raises the need for the global response as it affects nearly all the countries. The ability to successfully manage migration and asylum would determine whether it would turn out to be a threat or an opportunity. Over the past decades the world has seen a significant growth in the orderly migration in countries like Canada and Australia, that resulted in their economic growth and prosperous development. The migration crisis in Europe, however, has not been something foreseen nor planned, as it has been one of the major disruptors of rapid change in migration management and it is now for the European Union to collectively decide on whether it is able to give the "fresh start" to migration and asylum jointly, or it will continue to get fragmented adhering to the growing euroscepticism.
People either migrate out of their wish to improve, for example, their economic situation, way of life, to realize career aspirations, or out of necessity. Nonetheless, they leave their country of origin and have to adapt to new life conditions, to integrate into a new society with different culture, traditions, laws, to start their life from scratch, to study and work. This is beneficial not only for migrants, but also for a country which hosts migrants in terms of improving its economy. Nowadays, migration and asylum are undoubtedly among the drivers of structural and institutional change in the global political economy as well as in the societal democratic vision [1].
Today, in compliance with the latest statistics, particularly the World Migration Report 2020, the number of migrants constitutes more than 270 million people, which is 3.5 % of the global population. Consequently, this means that "migration" is a global phenomenon affecting not only people's daily lives, but also policies of the host countries' governments, or to be more precise, the policies that they implement. This includes social, economic, political, and technological practices. We argue that the receiving country or union of countries should have its migration and asylum policy united in order to make sure the union is on the same page and that its values and
principles are upheld. In the case of Europe, this policy is reflected in European Agenda 2019-2024 of Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen and in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum.
The ambitious European Commission's agenda 2019-2024
The world has faced numerous challenges lately that have encompassed some European communities as well. However, Europe has always been a symbol of unity, and even the recent, unsettled state of the world has not affected Europe so badly, holding its values and integrity ever strong. In the election process the current president of the European Commission has come up with an agenda that reflects the major issues, Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen will deal with, throughout the 5 years of her presidency. The political guidelines were warmly received by the European Council and the Parliament as it clearly spoke about the most important issues for Europe. Political guidelines were those of a large scope and covered issues like climate change, economic monetary union deepening, fairer trade, taxation, digitalization, democracy strengthening and the line that is named "Protecting our European way of life". This part of the guidelines and measures is as ambitious and wide as the size of the issues it aims to tackle, but it also proposes the solutions that are holistic, inclusive, and able to bring Europe up to speed with its modernization.
Protecting our European way of life - promising plan
In the agenda for Europe 2019-2024, one of the political guidelines is devoted to the concept - "Protecting our European way of life". Indeed, the protection of the European way of life is a cornerstone of values which Europe adheres to. This political guideline incorporates the importance of the rule of law, the role of migration policy and internal security. According to this guideline, the commitment to the rule of law reflects the real protection of the core European values. The defence of core values and basic human rights can be achieved solely by the consolidation and implementation of the rule of law. Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen distinctively points out that the EU is a "Community of Law" and promises that only the rule of law can provide human rights, including rights of newcomers to Europe. In fact, this is reasonable because the rule of law both constitutes the economic, legal, and political basis of the European Union and defends the rights of its population, including new migrants. In this connection the Commission president proposes a comprehensive European Rule of Law mechanism that will help to uphold European community and enhance the European market. Moreover, the President of the Commission proposes a new Pact on Migration and Asylum, which presupposes the presence of strong external borders. In this sense, European Border and Coast Guard Agency moves to the foreground, which means the deployment of border guards across EU borders. Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen also mentions the common European Asylum System in accordance with which all Member States will be included in this process whose involvement will enable a return to "a fully functioning Schengen Area of free movement", which defines the essence of the EU. EU should contribute to education and skills, health and infrastructure, security, and sustainable growth in order to incentivize people to stay in their home-countries, which are transforming to prosperity. Nonetheless, we should not forget that it does not apply to the criminals and disruptors who come to Europe and "never decide the fate of any human being or dictate who comes into our Union", which is why the new
pact focuses greatly on eligibility assessment which if failed, will be followed by the ticket to the home country of the respective candidate, provided by countries that are not willing to take on certain numbers of refugees and migrants.
Migration statistics
In response to the current challenges the Commission has initiated the Statistics on migration to Europe in the framework of the "Promoting our European way of life" guidelines. This initiative is already in place and currently presents the migration data in an open way. According to the snapshot of immigrants in European society, 4.7% of all EU inhabitants are non-EU citizens, also given the 7.7% of all EU inhabitants were born outside the EU. The report of the Commission also shows that many non-EU citizens residing in the EU are "essential workers". The percentage of migrants coming to Europe is significantly lower than the one in other parts of the developed world.
Percentage
Highcharls.com
Source: Eurostat, OECD, UNDESA, data from 2018 or 2019
In 2018 the net migration amounted to a total of 1.3 million persons due to the fact that 0.9 million persons emigrated from the EU and other 2.2 million immigrated to the EU. The report states that without migration, the aging European population would have shrunk by half a million, that would have had its negative impact on the economy of the union, calling for a response to the migration management, so that it is controlled, which is the only way it will bring good to everybody.
The same report also takes us to the official numbers of the refugees in Europe, that as of 2019 amount to 0.6% of the total EU population, that means most of the refugees are hosted by the developing countries (exception case is Germany as displayed on the graph).
Lebanon 13.4%
Jordan 6.4% @Ê0@33I Turkey 4.3% Uganda 3.3% Sudan 2.5% "üdHE^l Germany 1.4%
Iran 1.2% £60333 Ethiopia 0.7% Pakistan 0.6% il'¿00S>
EU 0.6% â@0O00S. Bangladesh 0.5% SgßiSi 0
Total population
6 825 442
10 765 236
83 154 997
41 583 600
42 814 740
83 166 711
83 767 576
100 829 000
220 892 331
447 706 209
169 272 080
40 60
Population
# Number of refugees
Highcharts.com
Source: UNHCR
Note: The graph showed the countries hosting the most refugees and the EU
That might once again prove that current migration and asylum flow is manageable and not ungovernable, therefore statements warning about the migration numbers might be exaggerated on the world scale. However, the unexpectedness of these numbers for the EU in comparison to those before the migration crisis is real, as in 2015 there has been a 546% increase in irregular EU border crossings, compared with 2014 [2]. In addition, a clear majority of refugees from Asia and Africa are rather being displaced within their own country or find refuge in the neighbouring countries, not coming to Europe.
Having looked at all the numbers and figures, one might want to ask - but why exactly is the system deemed as broken? Has there not been any attempts to change it? The answer lies not only in the response of the current president of the European Commission, but also in the aftermath of actions taken by member states alone to combat migration. Without a coherent single EU answer, several member states, such as Austria, Belgium, France, Sweden, Norway, and Germany, have set temporary border checks once the crisis had started in 2015. Moreover, in all the obscurity of what would have been a collective EU response, some member states built-up fences along their borders such as in Hungary [3] and all along the Austrian-Slovenian border [4]. The inability to "speak with one voice" has resulted in accusations of states in the problem instead of collectively looking for a solution. An example of such a phenomenon would be the Hungarian prime minister's Viktor Orban's speech at the European Council back in 2015, claiming the migration crisis to be a "German problem" as Germany is the place migrants "would like to go". This reaction once
again points out the urgent need of finding common solutions, and repairing this broken system to avoid an even larger split of the European Union.
Partial attempts to find a suitable response, such as the European Commission's Agenda on Migration in 2015 as well as Common European Asylum System 2016, were made, that were partially implemented and voted in the European Parliament [5]. Several of the proposals got rejected by the legislative EU institutions, such as the 2016 reform of the Qualification directive, that aimed at harmonizing and unifying the qualification rules on the third-countries nationals and stateless people in the union, was blocked by the Council. Similarly, the initiative of temporarily reintroducing the border control at internal borders in 2017 was also rejected by the Council. These findings give an unequivocal answer to the question of the urgency of the response on the matter. Despite the internal disagreements, Europe must find its way through all the miscomprehension and come to the common ground for the best of its future and its people.
Relevance of the problem for Russia
After the dissolution of the USSR, the former Soviet republics turned into independent states and a certain percentage of non-Russian citizens, living in Russia, got back to their countries of origin. Russians who had lived in other Soviet republics were repatriated back to Russia. The major pull factors that led ethnic Russians to repatriate are armed conflicts in the post-soviet space, and the elevation of the status of the titular nation in the former Soviet republics. Apart from that, some non-Russians, after returning to their countries of origin, migrated back to Russia, after being disillusioned by their countries' economic and political state. As a result, the breakdown of the USSR caused a flow of migration into Russia.
According to the Federal State Statistics, about 1. 1 million people migrated to Russia, with net migration reaching 810,000 people.
Note: The World Migration Report 2020
Statistically, Russia hosted nearly 11.8 million immigrants between 1991 and 2015 and the number of migrants has dramatically decreased, as opposed to the early nineties. Moreover, the flows of migrant populations were seen from the South Caucasus and Central Asia. According to the Census data from Demoscope Weekly, the number of immigrants in Russia has increased - from 15 percent in the 1990s to 40 percent in 2011-2015. They amounted to almost 6 million people in Russia. It shows that the international immigrants favour Russia as a centre of gravity in terms of employment. This is both profitable for the migrants and their families and the host country's economy.
It should be highlighted that Russia ranks second after the US in terms of immigration inflows with 4.5 million of migrants between January and May in 2020. According to the official indicators of the migration policy, established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, this includes internal and international migrants, while the work permits were given to 585 015 people, especially the migrants from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine who arrive in Russia either for permanent residence or temporary employment.
There are many unregistered migrants meaning that the number of labour migrants is higher. As Kovalchuk estimates, the annual number of illegal immigrants who are employed in the labour market is about 4-5 million people. According to the official data from the World Migration Report, migrants from Central Asia choose Russia as a destination with higher wages. For example, for Kyrgyz "labour migration has become a livelihood strategy, with many Kyrgyz migrant workers seeking employment in the Russian Federation, with provinces such as Siberia becoming increasingly popular".
In compliance with OECD in 2018, Russia received migrants from Ukraine, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan. Net migration to Russia was seen from Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. In 2018 the authorities issued 142 000, 64 700 and 61 400 residence permits for migrants from Ukraine, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan respectively. At the same time, over 1.8 million work permits were issued, among which 993 000 work permits were given to migrants from Uzbekistan, 471 000 patents to the citizens of Tajikistan and 112 000 patents to the citizens of Ukraine. Interestingly, whereas previously men from Central Asia moved to Russia to work as labour migrants, now "every third migrant comes with a spouse (more than 50% of women migrants come with their husbands), and about 10% of migrants come with children (while about half have children)" which means that they intend to stay and live in Russia lifetime [6].
Besides, the number of migrants tends to decrease each year. Migration inflows to Russia in 2018 were 1.6% less than in 2017. We can presume that recently adopted laws, such as a Concept of the National Migration Policy for the period 2019-2025 and a new registration rules for migrants in a place of temporary residence also contribute to a decline in migrants from Central Asia and Ukraine. Today, as the Ministry of Internal Affairs states, the number of migrants has decreased by a quarter and amounts to 1.8 million persons [7].
Note: The World Migration Report 2020
The leading reason for people from the CIS region for migrating to Russia is the economic one, i.e., migrants move to Russia in search of better employment opportunities, as the wage levels in their countries are lower. These migrants are of working age, most of them are blue-collar or unskilled labour and do not speak Russian well. Moreover, a younger generation of immigrants are not too familiar with Russian mentality, which causes some cross-cultural clashes. Nevertheless, migrant community organizes national and ethnic diasporas which help them to provide financial and social support in their host countries [7].
Notwithstanding, migrants have an impact on the Russian regions' economy. For instance, labour patent fees to the budgets of these regions amounted to 58.3. billion roubles in 2018 [8]. We should also add the Russian population has been continually ageing and shrinking since 1992. In 2019 it was the largest demographic crisis since 2008. Rosstat states that "deaths outnumbered births by 259, 600" [9]. That is why it is so significant to fill in jobs, particularly in the labour sector. In this essence, the annual migration inflows improve these demographic and economic crises in Russia.
It is evident that the migration movements to Russia are beneficial for the migrants' countries' economies, as the migrants send remittances to their families. In 2019 according to the Central Bank, migrants from CIS sent 6-7,5 billion dollars - 3 billion dollars to Uzbekistan, 699 million dollars to Tajikistan, 627,6 million dollars to Armenia and 612 million dollars to Kyrgyzstan [10]. These remittances constitute a considerable share of those countries' GDP and help to keep these countries' economies flowing. However, on the other side, these countries rely heavily on Russia.
Moreover, these remittances do not affect Russia's economy. For example, "in 2017, the ratio of outgoing remittances to its GDP was insignificant at just 1.3. %" [11].
After comparatively analysing the Russian experience with migration it becomes evident how important it is for both Russia and EU to learn the patterns from one another. In both cases the aging population problem is present, which inevitably demands migration and effective migration management in order to maintain and boost the economic growth and maximize the economic and social gains from this phenomenon.
Pact on migration and asylum
On the proposal presentation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the European Commission starts to advocate for it by stating that "Migration is normal - migration has always been here, migration will always be here. It has defined our societies for centuries, enriched our cultures and shaped our lives." - said the Vice-President Schinas [12]. In the negotiations of the proposal, the Commission has made sure to have every member state around the table so that the solutions proposed were not alienated from the legislative bodies' response. The Pact aims to go past the mistakes of the 2016, when only the partial package of solutions was presented. At the same time, it does not look at migration only as a plain discussion between solidarity and responsibility, presenting "a comprehensive approach to migration". The following chart summarizes the overall "Completing the puzzle" approach of the Commission that will further be elaborated in the article.
Effective Border Management --\
SAR Legal _ Migration Solidarity
Chapeau Communication
Outlining the external
dimension and Setting up 5 day health Introducing asylum and An eu fingerprint d
Roadmap of future security identity check at return border to track apphcatio
measures border procedures movements
Screening Asylum Procedures EURODAC I Crisis Blueprint Regulation Regulation Regulation
Framing our toolbox for dealing with migration
Search and Rescue Recommendation
Ensuring cooperation between flag and coastal States
Resettlement tecommendation
AMR Regulation [
Crisis Instrument
Providing solidarity To fea! with crisis Codifying pledges mechanisms and and force majeure
for 2020 and 2021 effective responsibility situations
Return Directive ^ Qualifications I Receptions ) Directive Conditions
EU Asylum ' Agency
Providing strong
Streamlined rules on Converging recognition Ensuring harmonised support and monitoring return to prevent abuse rates across the EU and decent conditions of implementation
Union [esettlement Framework
pport and monitoring A permanent of im piemen tation resettlemen tframework
' Building on the pending proposals from 2016
Completing the puzzle
Source: European Commission
Although the pact proposes a common European framework, it must be admitted that it is largely built on already existing legal instruments, operated by the EU, those awaiting the adoption as building on the progress made since 2016 and new proposals, that the Commission came up with throughout the long discussion sessions with international organizations, society representatives, NGOs, and others. Which is why, it must not be perceived as something extraordinarily new, but rather as an attempt to
unify the previous proposals and laws, comprehensively linking fragmented parts to the single pact.
It, thus, mentions the pre-entry screening procedures that would include a full data registration in the Eurodac database, including a health and security check in a promisingly prompt way, as the IT infrastructure and systems improvement are part of the proposal, being one of the crucial elements in minimizing the registration and final decision time. For those applicants, whose security check has been rejected, an immediate return procedure would apply without further interrogation, sending a clear warning signal for smugglers.
Fair share of responsibility and solidarity is a cornerstone. Flexible contributions system is going to be introduced and the largely debated proposition of amounts of migrant and refugee intakes has been removed from the proposal. Instead, the countries who are not willing to take a certain number of migrants and refugees will be supposed to give out monetary contributions to finance the journeys back to the country of origin of those, whose applications have been rejected.
Several foreign policy operations are to be conducted by the EU to combat migrant smuggling, by proposing an EU action plan against smuggling being part of the EU's Security Union Strategy and the Common Security and Defence Policy, leading to operations and missions in the Central Mediterranean such as in Libya, as a part of their mandates. The EU foreign policy actions proposed in the Pact continues, proposing the measures to help provide development assistance, build economic opportunities, promote democracy in countries of origin or the migrants and refugees so that the incentive to migrate is gone or lessened.
In order to control migration flows the Commission proposes to develop legal pathways, with national labour markets playing a pivotal role in the migration destinations. As Europe understands that it needs migration, it also understands that it needs quality migration, implying attracting of skills and talents under its Skills Agenda for Europe. This system has already been running since 2018, addressing existing labour shortages, which are forecasted to increase. The EU Talent Pool for third-country skilled workers is a long-awaited response to the market needs of the union as it has also launched a "public consultation on attracting skills and talent" [13].
Member states' reaction to the Pact
Unsurprisingly, there has been a resurgence of member states' representatives to the discussion of this pact, as the migration question has not been yet answered. What has caused most of the heated debate in the Commission and on the proposal, is the fact that the Commission has officially decided to not let the asylum quotas proposal go further, not including the mandatory relocations of migrants, leaving many to question who will be willing to take up the migrants and asylum seekers. With the following, the proposal is that the countries willing to deal with asylum seekers will be provided with the financial support, while those not taking up asylum seekers will be in charge of financing the deportation of refused applicants.
There has been a tremendous support of the pact by the two drivers - Germany and France, which recognize the need for change in migration policy since the beginning of the crisis. Additionally, most of the Southern European frontline states warmly welcomed the proposal, as these are the countries being hit the hardest by the
previous Dublin regulation that Europe is now past. Some of the Southern countries' officials would like to have several amendments, namely Greece, Italy and Spain are willing to insist on mandatory relocations, demanding the "mandatory solidarity mechanism", relieving the burden from the entry countries.
However, the proposal was received with the negativity from the Visegrad Four, namely Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia, rejecting the mandatory relocation of migrants and advocating for more militarily controlled EU external borders. But what is interesting is that even the Visegrad Four did not collectively reject the proposal, but rather negatively commented on some of its points that are still subject to further discussion. All the other major points concerning the voluntary solidarity, possible monetary contributions instead of the set amount of refugee intakes were rather welcomed.
Remarkably Austria and Slovenia have taken an ever protective role, rejecting the idea of mandatory resettlement, welcoming the Pact's proposals on "external border protection, returns and cooperation with third countries" - said Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer. It is worth noting that before the official proposal release, Sebastian Kurz, Austria's Chancellor, said the proposal would not work, rejecting the principle of mandatory solidarity, and Slovenia has followed Austria's opinion [12].
Reaction to the proposal by the international organisations, NGOs, and migration experts
It is worth mentioning the international actors' reactions and assessments towards the European initiative regarding migration and asylum. The international organizations have recently expressed their views on the roadmap of the EU's New Pact on Migration and Asylum and gave recommendations regarding the implementation of this Pact. We deem it necessary to pay particular attention to it.
The IOM acknowledges that the EU has faced "structural, systemic and even existential challenges" [13] in terms of irregular arrival management. The IOM realizes that migrants and refugees played an exceptional role during COVID-19 crisis as they worked in essential sectors such as healthcare, food-processing and agricultural industries. They are "agents of European economic revitalization" that is why the governments should "recognize their qualifications, lower barriers for them to cross borders, ensure working conditions, reduce transaction costs for remittances" [14].
The IOM welcomes proposed Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Framework (URHAF), Gender Action Plan III, Search and Rescue (SAR) in the Mediterranean and advocates for safe returnee reintegration. In addition, the IOM believes that all these challenges "must unite rather than divide" [15]. As COVID-19 showed in terms of access to basic needs, migrants' needs were unequal to those of citizens'. This must be minimized, and tolerance and diversity, respect and equality should be provided.
On the 13th of October 2020, a virtual Seventh EU-IOM meeting between official representatives from the EU and IOM was held. Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Political Affairs of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Stefano Sannino said "strengthened cooperation is key to ensure that migration takes place through safe and regular channels, for the benefit of all. The IOM is a key partner in that context" [16].
UNHCR believes that by having a common approach alongside with the EU it will be possible to address migration and asylum challenges. According to the IMO and UNHCR, relocation within the EU should be done, especially for children and women. The UN High Commissioner declares that "the Pact presents the opportunity for Europe to show that it can uphold the fundamental right to asylum, while cooperating on pragmatic policies to identify those in need of international protection and share responsibility for them" [17]. This quote shows that UNHCR welcomes the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and stands ready to cooperate in this field.
Besides, UNHCR recommends the EU to develop sustainable asylum systems and provide protection to the countries receiving a considerable percent of migrants and to transit countries. Other recommendations are providing needs-based support for humanitarian operations, adopting a protection-centered, development-led approach to address forced displacement, expanding opportunities for safe pathways and piloting a common, regulated approach to migration. Also, the UNHCR recommends the establishment of a well-managed common asylum system as "safe third country concepts are currently not the most efficient way to address the prevailing situation in the EU" [18]. The UNHCR stands for the advancement of the registration systems and recommends implementing simplified procedures for asylum determination.
Turning to the NGOs, not all the actors are completely satisfied with the proposal, deeming some parts of the pact to be "not aligned with development cooperation objectives, or human rights standards" [20]. Among the critics from the CONCORD Europe, that is the main interlocutor with the EU institutions on development policy as it represents more than 2600 NGOs, we mostly see the Chapter 6 of the Pact that stands for the external dimension, for instance, the fear that the Talent Partnership risks to have a negative effect on the partner countries, draining well-educated talent for Europe's benefit; conditionality to development aid for partner countries; the volume of the migration spending target 10%, which does not have the basis in the Treaties and others.
Furthermore, we should mention that many international organizations and NGOs support an idea of improving asylum systems, providing safe and legal channels, supporting inclusion in Europe and deny an idea of mandatory border procedures which undermine migrants' rights and their security and protection. The document was signed by such NGOs as Amnesty International, Caritas Europa, Diakonie Deutschland, FOCSIV, Irish Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, and others [21].
There has also been an outreaching critique from academia, namely the Odysseus Network for legal studies on immigration and asylum, prof. Daniel Thym, from the Research Centre of Immigration and Asylum Law in the University of Konstanz, Germany. In his special series of posts on the new migration pact, prof. Daniel Thym highlights the "fresh start" to be rather an illusion, with the de facto status quo of the Dublin Regulation. The professor also emphasizes the pre-entry screening identification to be "hardly a novelty" providing the legal basis for his statements. It is also observed by the professor that "the Commission does not answer how it wants to guarantee the domestic authorities and courts in the European periphery will be able to deliver", warning that once again, "the law on books does not translate into administrative practice". Other critiques of the pact include triggering of "another
Moria", EU foreign policy initiatives and the unclarity on the matter of "closed centres" as part of the 2016 Proposal of a Reception Conditions Directive [22].
Way forward towards fixing the broken migration and asylum system
The impact of the coronavirus on migration and asylum, as well as on the policymaking in these spheres should not be underestimated. With poorer countries being hit the hardest, one might forecast a new migration wave flowing from the South to the North, fleeing for mostly economic well-being but also for a more developed health care and access to basic hygiene means. The institutional response to this wave is projected to be significantly more resistant due to the current economic vulnerability of the EU, and similarly the societal response might be the one seeing migrants as the disease bringers and spreaders. Which is why it is crucial that the united European migration and asylum response that would reflect current realities is given due attention and urgency.
Even though it must be admitted that the pact is definitely not the perfect solution to the long-awaited migration and asylum problem, having included all the member states' positions it definitely stands a chance of bringing the promised "fresh start".
As young researchers we aspire to further our findings and observations of the migration and asylum management in the EU and Russia. Not only is it interesting to observe negotiations' development in the Parliament and the Council, but also to monitor the future implications of COVID-19 on this field
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3. Hungary's PM plans 'more massive' fence to keep out migrants (2016) - The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/26/hungarys-pm-plans-more-massive-fence-to-keep-out-migrants
4. Europe's Border Checks Become Economic Choke Points (2016) Alderman L., Kanter J. - the New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/business/international/europes-new-border-controls-exact-a-cost.html?_r=0
5. Dinan, D., Nugent, N., & Paterson, W. E. (2017). The European union in crisis - Ch.6, pp.105-107
6. On labor migration to Russia: Central Asian migrants and migrant families in the matrix of Russia's bordering policies, Elena Nikiforova*, Olga Brednikova, https://www.hse.ru/data/2019/12/25/1524778691/On%20labor%20migration%20to% 20Russia%20Central%20Asi..%20of%20Russia%27s%20bordering%20policies.pdf
7. Количество трудовых мигрантов в России за год уменьшилось почти на четверть, https://www.interfax.ru/russia/735806
8. Migration in the Russian Federation today, Veronica Matveevna, Natalia Rumyantseva, Diana Rubtsova, https://www.fdv.uni-lj.si/docs/default-source/tip/migracije-v-ruski-federaciji-danes.pdf?sfvrsn=
9. The economics of migration: Russian experience, Asylgyl Kanatbekova and Olga Gulina, https://legal-dialogue.org/the-economics-of-migration-russian-experience
10. Russia's Natural Population Decline to Hit 11-Year Record in 2019, the Moscow Times, https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/13/russias-natural-population-decline-hit-11 -year-record-2019-a68612
11. Объем денежных переводов из России за границу упал из-за пандемии, https://www.rbc.ru/finances/07/04/2020/5e8b56bc9a79470ebf56ff1a
12. The economics of migration: Russian experience, Asylgyl Kanatbekova and Olga Gulina, https://legal-dialogue.org/the-economics-of-migration-russian-experience
13. Speech by Vice-President Schinas on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Brussels, 23 September 2020. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/ presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/speech_20_1736/SPEECH_20_1736_EN.pdf
14. Member states to clash over the EU's new migration pact. Euractiv Network, 24.09.2020 https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/member-states-to-clash-over-the-eus-new-migration-pact/
15. IOM Views on the Roadmap for the EU's New Pact on Migration and Asylum, https://eea.iom.int/sites/default/files/publication/document/IOM-Views-Road map-EU-New-Pact-Migration-Asylum.pdf
16. Strengthened partnerships on migration discussed at the Seventh EU-IOM strategic meeting, https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/86888 /strengthened-partnerships-migration-discussed-seventh-eu-iom-strategic-meeting_en
17. UNHCR and IOM call for a truly common and principled approach to European migration and asylum policies, https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2020/9/5f69deff4/unhcr-iom-call-truly-common-principled-approach-european-migration-asylum.html
18. CONCORD Reaction to the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, 6.10.2020. https://concordeurope.org/resource/reaction-to-new-pact-on-migration-and-asylum/
19. The new Pact on Asylum and Migration: An opportunity seized or squandered?
20. European Realpolitik: Legislative Uncertainties and Operational Pitfalls of the "New" Pact on Migration and Asylum, 28.09.2020. http://eumig rationlawblog.eu/european-realpolitik-legislative-uncertainties-und-operational-pitfalls-of-the-new-pact-on-migration-and-asylum/
