Barriers to asylum? notes on the system of international protection in Spain

Despite being the EU’s external southwestern border, the fourth biggest economy in the eurozone and one of the largest and most populous countries in the region, Spain receives barely 1% of total asylum applications lodged in the European Union. This article traces a path through the evolution of the legal framework and comments on the asylum procedure and the current situation of international protection in Spain – including a specific reference to access to the asylum system in Ceuta and Melilla. It concludes that migration policy, the externalisaion of borders, and significant, visible challenges – in both asylum procedures and the reception system – all help explain why Spain is one of the countries with fewest asylum applications of all 28 EU member states.

Key Words: Refugees, international protection, external borders, Common European Asylum System (CEAS), access to asylum, subsidiary protection, UNHCR, Ceuta, Melilla

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