This article conducts a brief historical excursus on the evolution of the EU's readmission policy through the analysis of readmission agreements, meant as its main legal instruments. The Lisbon Treaty is herein portrayed as an historical watershed in the recognition of both an express competence of the Union with regard to measures aimed to address the readmission of irregular migrants, and a new role of the Parliament entrusted with the fundamental power to be consulted before a readmission agreement is definitively concluded by the Council.Finally, while a scrutiny of the close relationship between national and supranational readmission strategies reveals the unwillingness of Member States to renounce their national readmission policies, a preliminary assessment of the potential role of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the field of return of irregular migrants after Lisbon is performed.

Offering the first comprehensive analysis of readmission agreements, this book examines the intersection of immigration and human rights law and the complex interplay between evolving international, regional and national norms. Expanding the current academic and policy discourse on readmission agreements through detailed consideration of the negotiation processes carried out by the European Community, it renders a nuanced review of the underlying strategic objectives and regional effects of these treaties. The book makes a robust challenge to prevailing perspectives in legal scholarship and policy on readmission and refugee protection. The self-contained focus on EC readmission agreements throws light on broader questions of EU migration policy and reveals a detailed and insightful picture of a specific field of EU policy and action.

This study sets out to explain the drivers shaping cooperative patterns on the readmission of unauthorised third-country nationals, whether at bilateral or EU level. It lays emphasis on the existence of a predominant bilateral readmission system in which EU agreements are inextricably embedded. As a result of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the reinforced political control of the European Parliament calls for an analysis of this system and of its implications for human rights observance.

By examining the implementation dynamics of EU Readmission Agreements (EURAs), this book addresses the practical reasons why irregular immigrants cannot be expelled. EURAs are one of the vital legal instruments framing EU external migration law with regard to the expulsion of irregular immigrants, yet their implementation has met with various obstacles. Above all, the process of determining an individual’s legal identity has proven to be one of the most controversial aspects in the implementation of EURAs. The analysis shows that the process of identifying who is whose national in the context of readmission creates two existential dilemmas: first from the perspective of the sovereignty of third countries of origin and the legal standards laid out in international instruments as regards states’ powers in determining nationality, and second regarding the agency of the individual as a holder of fundamental human rights. How do the EURAs deal with or aim at alleviating these identity determination dilemmas? The book provides a comparative analysis of the administrative procedures and rules envisaged by EURAs aimed at proving or presuming the nationality of the persons to be readmitted to their country of origin. It focuses on the ways in which nationality is to be determined or presumed in the scope of the 2010 EURA with Pakistan, and compares it with those foreseen in the EURAs with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cape Verde, Georgia, and Turkey. As such, the book provides a unique and up-to-date study of EURAs and their implementation challenges in the broader context of EU external migration law and policy.

'After Lisbon the EU has reached a new precarious stage in its development. New institutions have been created and policies reformed. The different chapters of this book cover the most important innovations, while providing a fresh critical assessment of the shortcomings of the present arrangements. Works are always in progress at the EU site and the authors provide the future architects of this grand building as well as the academic community with much food for thought.' – Roberto Caranta, University of Turin, Italy This comprehensive and insightful book discusses in detail the many innovations and shortcomings of the historic Lisbon version of the Treaty on European Union and what is now called the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Divided into six parts, the 23 chapters provide 'after Lisbon' perspectives on law and governance of the EU, its powers and nature, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, EU external action and policy, justice and criminal policy, and economic governance. The authors, drawn from eleven EU Member States, offer a uniquely diverse and extensive coverage of the new EU law and policy after Lisbon. The book argues that while the Treaty of Lisbon has to be considered a milestone in the history of European integration, its shortcomings and open questions will make a future major treaty inevitable. The Treaty of Lisbon and the Future of European Law and Policy will appeal to postgraduate students and academics in European law and policy, EU institutions, diplomatic missions, lobbying, NGOs, specialised lawyers and governments.

This monograph could not be more timely, as discourses relating to refugees' access to territory, rescue at sea, push-back, and push-back by proxy dominate political debate. Looking at the questions which lie at the junction of migration control and refugee law standards, it explores the extent to which readmission can hamper refugees' access to protection. Though it draws mainly on European law, notably the European Convention on Human Rights, it also examines other international frameworks, including those employed by the United Nations and instruments such as the Refugee Convention. Therefore, this book is of importance to readers of international law, refugee law, human rights and migration studies at the global level. It offers an analysis of both the legal and policy questions at play, and engages fully with widely-disputed cases concerning readmission agreements, deportation with assurances and interception at sea. By so doing, this book seeks to clarify a complex field which has at times suffered from partiality in both its terminology and substance.

In recent decades, asylum has emerged as a highly politicized European issue. The term ’asylum seeker’ has suffered a negative perception and has been associated with notions of illegality and criminality in mainstream media. These misconceptions have been supported by politicians as a distraction from economic and political uncertainties with the result that asylum seekers have been deprived of significant rights. This book examines the effect of recent attempts of harmonization on the identification and protection of refugees. It considers the extent of obligations on the state to admit and protect refugees and examines the 1951 Refugee Convention. The motivations of European legislators and legislation concerning asylum procedures and reception conditions are also analysed. Proposals and initiatives for refugee movements and determinations are examined and assessed. The author makes suggestions for better protection of refugees while responding to the security concerns of States, and questions whether European law and policy is doing enough to uphold the fundamental right to seek and enjoy asylum as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This book takes a bold look at a controversial issue and generates discussion for those involved in the fields of human rights, migrational and transnational studies, law and society and international law.