For many years, European cooperation on asylum and migration policies raised concerns about the potentially restrictive impact of such cooperation on the rights of migrants and refugees.  However, the communitarisation of EU asylum and migration policies since the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and the introduction of Community law and policies since the early 2000s represent a major turning point in the politics of migration and asylum in Europe. It has been observed that the shift of power from the member states to EU institutions such as the Court and the Commission has produced new liberal constraints on member states. 

This raises questions about the role of EU institutions in asylum and migration policies. Can the policy impact of EU institutions such as the Court, the Commission, and the European Parliament in the field of migration and asylum indeed be characterized as a ‘liberal constraint’? How can we explain the (liberal) policy preferences and positions adopted by different EU institutions? At which stages in the policy process (agenda-setting, decision-making, implementation) does this impact become apparent and through which channels does it shape national and EU policies?

This second session looks into processes of enforcement of EU policies. The papers discuss the role of the European Commission and the EU Court, as well as the impact of the European Convention of Human Rights and the Strasbourg Court.