Solidarity – an integral and basic concept of the Common European Asylum System?

CEASEVAL Working Paper No.5 

Increasing arrivals of persons in need of international protection always sparked debates on solidarity, be it at global, European or national level. Despite its broad referral and frequent use in international, EU and national legal and policy documents, the meaning of solidarity is rather undefined. This working paper sets out to assess existing understandings of the meaning of solidarity in the light of the developments at global, EU and national level following the “refugee crisis” in 20015/ 2016, labeled by some as a “crisis of solidarity”. It does so by examining solidarity and its operationalisation at different levels of governance from an EU perspective, centering around the latest discussion on the third generation of the Common European Asylum System, specifically addressing the discussions around the distribution of asylum seekers and refugees.