The Reform of the Dublin III Regulation: How to Build or Not to Build Further Enforcing Mechanisms

Abstract

The European Commission’s proposal for the reform of the Common European Asylum System was presented in 2016 as a package deal. Of all the contentious legal instruments to be reformed, the most complex is the proposal for the Dublin IV Regulation. This article particularly seeks to identify the changes that illustrate the reactions of the European Commission and the Parliament as regards the mechanisms to enforce the Dublin system. On the one hand, some of the measures mark a shift from the human rights concept of refugee protection to an emphasis on security and punitive measures. On the other hand, it contends that some provisions of the Dublin IV proposal provide minimal persuading effects for States and asylum seekers. The robust conditions imposed on the ‘beneficiaries’ erode whatever the system is supposed to provide, either compliance with human rights standards or its proper implementation.