Solidarity and Fair Sharing : An Analysis of the European Commission’s Proposal for a Recast Dublin Regulation in Light of Article 80 TFEU

The Dublin Regulation in its current form sets the criteria and mechanisms for determining which state is responsible for examining an individual’s asylum application within the common territory of the Member States. Countries located on the outer border of the European Union, along some of the more frequently used travel routes for migrants, have reported an un-proportionate pressure, due to the material rules in the Dublin Regulation. Due to this, certain member states have reported deteriorating reception conditions for asylum applicants and, in the case of Greece, it has temporarily led to the cessation of transfers of asylum applicants to Greece in accordance with the Dublin Regulation. A proposal for a recast Dublin Regulation has been published and is currently being discussed among the Member states. Among changes of material and procedural nature in the proposal, there are mechanisms that aim to distribute asylum seekers more evenly than what is currently possible. The proposal aims to implement the principle of solidarity and fair sharing that is established in article 80 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The proposal for a recast Dublin Regulation is not a solitary proposition, but a part of a series of proposals for a reformed Common European Asylum System. The European Commission has, in two separate decisions, ordered the relocation of asylum applicants from Italy and Greece. This relocation program could be seen as a test run for the future implementation of a relocation mechanism within the framework of the Dublin Regulation. This paper aims to analyze the principle of solidarity and fair sharing within the context of the proposed Dublin Regulation and surrounding legislative acts