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Asylum

Asylum, migration and borders

The increase in migration has presented opportunities and challenges across Europe. FRA encourages rights-compliant responses.

We provide practical expertise on this complex issue. This includes regular updates, focus papers and toolkits. We also outline policy alternatives and best practices.

Highlights

  • Page
    This page describes the activities of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on migration and asylum. It also explains how these activities can help the European Union (EU) and its Member States to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum in a fundamental rights-compliant manner.
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    22
    March
    2022
    In view of the human rights situation since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on 24 February 2022 and the large number of persons seeking protection in the European Union (EU), the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) dispatched, as a first step, a team composed of Agency staff who speak the national languages and with expertise on migration, child protection, equality and non-discrimination and Roma inclusion to observe and collect evidence on the evolving situation. The team reported daily to the EU mechanism for preparedness and crises management on migration (Migration Preparedness and Crisis Blueprint).
  • Report / Paper / Summary
    14
    December
    2020
    Artificial intelligence (AI) already plays a role in deciding what unemployment benefits someone gets, where a burglary is likely to take place, whether someone is at risk of cancer, or who sees that catchy advertisement for low mortgage rates. Its use keeps growing, presenting seemingly endless possibilities. But we need to make sure to fully uphold fundamental rights standards when using AI. This report presents concrete examples of how companies and public administrations in the EU are using, or trying to use, AI. It focuses on four core areas – social benefits, predictive policing, health services and targeted advertising.
  • Handbook / Guide / Manual
    17
    December
    2020
    The European Convention on Human Rights and European Union law provide an increasingly important framework for the protection of the rights of foreigners. European Union legislation relating to asylum, borders and immigration is developing fast. There is an impressive body of case law by the European Court of Human Rights relating in particular to Articles 3, 5, 8 and 13 of the ECHR. The Court of Justice of the European Union is increasingly asked to pronounce on the interpretation of European Union law provisions in this field. The third edition of this handbook, updated up to July 2020, presents this European Union legislation and the body of case law by the two European courts in an accessible way.
    Products
    20
    October
    2020
    The EU Fundamental Rights Agency published in 2019 its report on the ‘Integration of young refugees in the EU’. The report explored the challenges of young people who fled armed conflict or persecution and arrived in the EU in 2015 and 2016. The report is based on 426 interviews with experts working in the area of asylum and integration, as well as 163 interviews with young people, aged 16 to 24, conducted between October 2017 and June 2018 in 15 regions and cities located in six Member States: Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Sweden. The links on this page provide a summary of the information collected during this period for each country about unaccompanied children turning 18 and the change in people’s legal status once international protection is granted. These two issues had at the time been identified as moments requiring sufficient, consistent and systematic support, particularly from lawyers, social workers and guardians, to ensure successful integration.
    This video statement by FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty was recorded on 15 October 2020 at the Moria migration facility that was destroyed by fire in September 2020.
    This video statement by FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty was recorded on 14 October 2020 at the temporary facility at Mavrovouni. This temporary camp was built to re-house people after the fire at the Moria migration facility on the island of Lesbos, in Greece.
    29
    July
    2020
    As we enter the second half of 2020, the constraints on our daily lives
    brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic have become a firm reality.
    New local lockdowns and the reintroduction of restrictive measures
    prompted by fresh outbreaks of the virus are a stark reminder that
    COVID-19 continues to shape our lives – and our enjoyment of fundamental
    rights – in profound ways. There is compelling evidence of how the
    pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges in our societies. This FRA
    Bulletin outlines some of the measures EU Member States adopted to
    safely reopen their societies and economies while continuing to mitigate
    the spread of COVID-19. It highlights the impact these measures may have
    on civil, political and socioeconomic rights.
    27
    July
    2020
    The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has been regularly collecting data on asylum and
    migration since September 2015. This report focuses on the fundamental rights situation of
    people arriving in Member States and EU candidate countries particularly affected by migration.
    It addresses fundamental rights concerns between 1 April and 30 June 2020.
    24
    July
    2020
    This practical guidance addresses border-management staff in European Union (EU) Member States who work at the operational level. It aims to support them in implementing the fundamental rights safeguards of the Schengen Borders Code (Regulation (EU) No. 2016/399) and related EU law instruments in their daily work, when carrying out controls at external land borders.
    The EU Return Directive introduced an important fundamental rights safeguard for third-country nationals ordered to leave the EU because they do not or no longer fulfil the conditions for entry and/or stay. According to the Directive, Member States must provide for an effective forced-return monitoring system.
    3
    July
    2020
    The EU Return Directive (2008/115/EC) in Article 8 (6) introduced an important fundamental rights safeguard for third-country nationals ordered to leave the EU because they do not or no longer fulfil the conditions for entry and/or stay. According to the directive, Member States must provide for an effective forced-return monitoring system.
    19
    June
    2020
    In 2019, the International Organization for Migration estimated that 1,866 people have died or gone missing while crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe to escape war or persecution or to pursue a better life. This is an average of five people per day. In recent years, a significant proportion of migrants in distress at sea have been rescued by civil society vessels deployed with a humanitarian mandate to reduce fatalities and bring rescued migrants to safety. Since 2018, however, authorities in some EU Member States started viewing civil society-deployed rescue vessels with hostility. As a reaction, national authorities initiated about 40 administrative and criminal proceedings against crew members or vessels, including seizing the latter. In some cases, rescue vessels were blocked in harbours due to flag issues or the inability to meet technical requirements.
    11
    June
    2020
    Now available in Macedonian and Serbian
    13 November 2020
    The year 2019 brought both progress and
    setbacks in terms of fundamental rights protection.
    FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2020 reviews
    major developments in the field, identifying both
    achievements and remaining areas of concern.
    This publication presents FRA’s opinions on the main
    developments in the thematic areas covered, and a
    synopsis of the evidence supporting these opinions.
    In so doing, it provides a compact but informative
    overview of the main fundamental rights challenges
    confronting the EU and its Member States.
    11
    June
    2020
    FRA’s Fundamental Rights Report 2020 reviews major developments in the field in 2019, identifying both achievements and areas of concern. It also presents FRA’s opinions on these developments, including a synopsis of the evidence supporting these opinions. This year’s focus chapter explores how to unlock the full potential of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.
    28
    May
    2020
    The Coronavirus pandemic continues to interrupt everyday life in the EU
    in unprecedented ways. But the way it affects our societies is shifting. As
    governments gradually lift some of the measures put in place to contain the
    spread of COVID-19, new fundamental rights concerns arise: how to ensure that
    the rights to life and health are upheld as daily life transitions to a ‘new normal’.
    This Bulletin looks at declarations of states of emergency, or equivalent, and
    how they came under scrutiny. It considers the impact on fundamental rights in
    important areas of daily life, and includes a thematic focus on the processing of
    users’ data to help contain COVID-19, particularly by contact-tracing apps. It covers the period 21 March – 30 April 2020.
    27
    May
    2020
    The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has been regularly collecting data on migration since September 2015. This report focuses on the fundamental rights situation of people arriving in Member States and EU candidate countries particularly affected by large migration movements. It addresses key fundamental rights concerns between 1 January and 31 March 2020.
    11
    May
    2020
    In recent years, thousands of girls and boys have reached Europe without their parents, and sought international protection. Many of them experienced violence, abuse and neglect in their home countries, and while in transit. They have the right to be protected in line with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the European Convention on Human Rights, and European Union law. This report explores the challenges and good practices gathered in the implementation of such relocation programmes. Based on information FRA collected in 10 EU Member States, it aims to help national authorities to support the relocation of unaccompanied children by taking measures that are fully rights compliant and practically feasible.
    Based on the lessons learned from relocation
    experiences and on existing international and EU legal
    standards, FRA has developed a number of practical
    suggestions for the adjustment of relocation efforts to
    the protection needs of unaccompanied children. This
    guidance aims to be a practical tool for Member States
    that wish to engage in the relocation of unaccompanied
    children and in any future responsibility-sharing
    mechanisms, and to gain knowledge on how this can
    be done while respecting the child’s best interests.
    30
    March
    2020
    Children in migration are more vulnerable than adults, particularly when they are unaccompanied. Their vulnerability makes them more exposed to violence, exploitation and trafficking in human beings, as well as physical, psychological and sexual abuse. This report looks into challenges to the fundamental rights of children in migration throughout 2019. It pulls together the main issues identified in FRA’s Quarterly Bulletins on migration in selected EU Member States.
    27
    March
    2020
    French version now available
    24 April 2020
    Council of Europe (CoE) and European Union (EU) Member States have an undeniable sovereign right to control the entry of non-nationals into their territory. While exercising border control, states have a duty to protect the fundamental rights of all people under their jurisdiction, regardless of their nationality and/or legal status. Under EU law, this includes providing access to asylum procedures.
    Greece needs solid, sustained support and solidarity as it faces great migration challenges, says FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty after 2 days of meetings in Athens with authorities.
    17
    March
    2020
    The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) urges Member States to agree on a simple and practical workflow as soon as possible, to avoid lack of clarity and delays in the relocation process. This paper provides practical suggestions on relocation of unaccompanied children from Greece, building on lessons learned from previous mandatory and voluntary relocation schemes. The paper provides FRA input on the initiative of the European Commission and a group of Member States to relocate unaccompanied children.
    February
    2020
    In today’s media landscape the way in which journalists
    and editors receive, process and publish news
    is constantly changing. Journalists face immense
    time pressure, as news frequently breaks online To facilitate training on the coverage of migration
    news, this Trainer’s Manual is a tool to be used together
    with the e-Media Toolkit.
    Over 70 representatives from EU Member States, EU and UN agencies took part in a migrant children expert group meeting on 24 June.
    FRA joined other EU justice and home affairs agencies in a European Commission meeting on the new 2021-2027 HOME Funds. The funds include the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund, the Border Management and Visa Instrument, and the Internal Security Fund.
    Irregular migrants can fall victim to exploitative employers. The EU has rules to protect migrant workers in an irregular situation from exploitation and abuse, but gaps remain in their enforcement, finds a new report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Workers do not know their rights or how to complain, and even when they do, they may not receive compensation due. EU countries should do better to protect migrant workers’ rights under existing EU rules.
    On World Refugee Day on 20 June, the Council of Europe and the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) are joining forces to strengthen their cooperation on human rights protection at the European borders.
    So far this year, almost five people per day on average died crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, estimates the International Organization for Migration. Ahead of World Refugee Day 2021, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights points to ongoing difficulties facing civil society rescue efforts in the Mediterranean, complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
    FRA took part in a panel discussion on triggering change nationally towards respect for the human rights of migrants at borders through the work of NHRIs and other human rights defenders.
    On 20 May, FRA attended the third online meeting of the EU Migration Preparedness and Crisis Management Mechanism (Blueprint) Network.
    FRA spoke to eu-LISA staff about the fundamental rights implications of the European Travel and Authorisation System. It drew on its Opinion on the fundamental rights impact of ETIAS and its research into large-scale EU IT migration systems. FRA rose awareness of the possible fundamental rights risks that can emerge if safeguards are not duly implemented.
    On 18 May, FRA participated in the online meeting of the network of EU Agencies’ contact points on human trafficking.
    The EU law enforcement training agency (CEPOL) gathered experts from EU Agencies and Member States to identify and discuss future training needs on information exchange and interoperability of EU IT systems.
    On 27 April, FRA attended the high-level forum on the implementation of the architecture for the EU information systems for borders, migration and security.
    FRA took part in the online expert meeting of the Frontex Technology Foresight on Biometrics for the future of Travel group.
    This week, Michael O’Flaherty, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), visited the reception facilities on the island of Samos in Greece.
    FRA delivered online training on 30 March on the fundamental rights considerations of returning unaccompanied children. The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) organised the webinar.
    The Consultative Forum of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) issued its fundamental rights considerations to the Frontex Management Board Working Group on Fundamental Rights and Legal Operational Aspects of Operations in the Aegean Sea.
    On 12 March, FRA participated in an online roundtable organised by regional authorities in Catalonia responsible for the protection of unaccompanied children. Several NGOs, medical associations, trade unions and child protection authorities of different cities participated.
    On 10 March, the European Migration network launched its report on the state of implementation in 2019 of the EU’s Communication on protecting migrant children.