The Common European Asylum System and the 2015 European refugee crisis

This thesis approaches the topic of migration and asylum seeking within the European Union and analyzes the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Through the use of the theory of intergovernmentalism it argues how CEAS was created and how states were able to bargain in order to cede control over irregular migrants to the European Union. Then by using the theory of securitization, it is argued that migration became securitized which lead Member States to reclaim power over migration and asylum seeking. It will argue that the European Union’s response to the large increase in irregular migration into EU territory in 2015 shows the limits of the European institutional framework in the asylum policy. While there is much cooperation within the European Union, when faced with security issues, of which migration and asylum are a part, Member States are reticent of giving up sovereignty.Master of Art