What has been the role of the EP in the externalisation of migration policy since the 2015 migration crisis

Abstract

In 2015, an unprecedented number of migrants entering the EU, and the failure to coordinate the inflow of migrants on the basis of solidarity led to an exponential growth in externalisation policies aimed at curbing migration flows. Readmission composed an important part of this strategy, constituting one of the EU's priorities. Many of the readmission agreements signed during the 8th parliamentary term took the form of informal agreements in which the European Parliament has no formal role. Previous research on the topic has argued that, in the wake of the migration crisis, the European Council cast a "shadow of hierarchy" on the European Parliament, actively undermining its role. However, an in-depth analysis of the arguments and drivers from the perspective of the European Parliament had, so far, not been conducted. Therefore, this thesis aimed to answer the following question: what drives contestation by the European Parliament of informal readmission agreements? To explain limited but varying Parliamentary opposition to informal readmission agreements and identify the drivers and arguments for contestation, this thesis conducted a qualitative comparative small n case study of 3 agreements (Turkey, Afghanistan and Ethiopia). The theoretical framework by Thevenin, which identifies means and...