Who welcomes whom and how, in the current context of European upheaval in the face of the globalisation of refugee flows?  

The Europeanisation of asylum policies has been little studied outside the field of political science, even though the history, geography or sociology of the reception of refugees has been examined at the national level by various specialists. ARRECO intends to develop two axes.

First, the question of categorisation: the aim is to analyse the diversification of the people involved in the reception of refugees, from the local to the European scale. In the field, private (individual volunteers, associations, but also companies) and public (local authorities, elected representatives) actors help compensate for the shortcomings or failures of the Member States and the European Union. They also implement decisions taken in Brussels, a long way from the places of arrival and reception of refugees. However, reception policies are probably conditioned by the legal categorisation of the people received, between political refugees and economic migrants: war refugees, particularly vulnerable groups (children, isolated women, sick people), or even climate refugees. It is essential to examine the identity of these refugees. Particular attention will be paid to the effects, at national level, of the Europeanisation and internationalisation processes of asylum policies. A comparison between European States and with other non-European States will also highlight national specificities regarding categorisation.

This first research theme aims to analyse the categorisation of:

- those welcomed: which foreigners, which legal regimes?

- local receivers: what are the respective roles of associations, companies, local authorities, etc.?

- places of reception: camps, detention centres, asylum reception centres, information and support centres, other accommodation. What are the solutions? Is it always an emergency?

- the rights of refugees: what are their rights once they arrive in Europe? Particular emphasis will be placed on the conditions of health reception of refugees: does the refugees’ right to health really exist?

Secondly, the question of operationalisation : how does Europe influence the traditional ways of receiving populations seeking asylum? Both the European Union and the Council of Europe were designed to determine common legal rules, not to act on their own. However, a process of operationalisation of the European Union seems to be under way, which questions the reciprocal relations between the local and the global level: how can they be articulated in the process of settling refugees? The aim is, on the one hand, to understand the current conditions of access to European territory for asylum seekers at a time of reinforced European border control and, on the other hand, to examine the obstacles to the free movement of refugees in Europe and their consequences. The former aspect is illustrated by the creation of the European Corps of Border Guards, which succeeded to Frontex in October 2016; the latter focuses on the current relocation and resettlement processes, the determination and implementation of which seem extremely confused. Between Schengen, Dublin, Lampedusa and Calais, where do the refugees go, according to which decision-making process, and with which reception arrangements? The question of refugee camps or hotspots has been little studied. However, the European Union has recently acquired new operational competences here, and not only normative ones.

This second theme aims to analyse operationalisation:

- at local level: how is the reception of refugees carried out in the Loire region, and in other French and foreign regions?

- at national level: what are the States doing? Is dialogue sufficient and effective?

- at European level: what is the role of the European Union in relocation and resettlement mechanisms? Can it simply delegate the management of refugee flows to third countries?

- at international level: since September 2016, the UN has apparently been more concerned about the situation of refugees in Europe and in the world: what is it doing?

Project Partners

Academic Partners:

Université d'Angers (CJB, ESO), Université de Nantes (CENS, DCS, CRHIA / LABEX EHNE, CRINI), Univ. de Poitiers (CECOJI EA 7353) , Univ. d'Amiens (CURAPP), Université Paris‐Nanterre (CEDIN), Université Bretagne Sud (Lab-LEX), Université de Clermont‐Ferrand (Centre Michel de l’Hospital), Université de Pau (ITEM), Université Paris 7 Paris - Diderot (URMIS), Université de Rennes 1 (IODE), ESSCA (EU-Asia Institute), CNRS (Institut de recherches sur le Maghreb contemporain, Tunis), Université de Genève (Global Migration Center), Radboud University Nijmegen (Centre for Migration Law) (Netherlands), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Social and Political Science Department / GRITIM-UPF) (Barcelona), Università degli studi di Cagliari (CRDEI), Göttingen University, Germany, University of Leicester (United Kingdom), Warsaw School of Economics (Poland), Università degli Studi di Catania (Chaire Jean Monnet EU Mediterranean border crises and European External action), University of Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey (Political Science department), University of Galatasaray, Istanbul, Turkey (Department of international relations), Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria (Italy) - Mediterranea International Centre for Research on Human Rights (MICHR), Universidad de Cádiz (Jean Monnet chair "Inmigración y Fronteras")

Other Partners:

European Policy Center - European Migration Law, Ministère de la Santé, Barreau de Nantes, CIMADE Pays de la Loire, Secours catholique 49, UNHCR (Paris bureau and  Strasbourg representation), Maison de l’Europe à Nantes, ONU (UNHCR), Maison de l’Europe Angers - Maine et Loire, Euradionantes, Collectif universitaire angevin de Solidarité avec les Réfugiés et les Demandeurs d'Accueil, Médecins du Monde Pays de Loire, France Horizons, CADA Maine et Loire, Collectif Etrange Miroir, Amnesty International,  Le Monde Journalist, Arte, Association italienne d’accueil des demandeurs d’asile (Basilicate, Italie), Association APUIS-ATSA (Saint-Nazaire)