A fresh start in EU asylum policy

Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen promised a ‘fresh start on migration’. That would imply moving EU migration policy out of its sustained crisis mode and breaking the deadlock surrounding the notion of solidarity. First, decision-makers in the EU and the member states should counter right-wing rhetoric with a narrative focused on the protection of human lives and solidarity. Second, asylum standards should be further harmonised and positive asylum decisions should be mutually recognised. Third, the EU should address the situation in the Mediterranean by solidifying the ‘stable mechanism’ for the relocation of rescued asylum-seekers and by establishing a search and rescue operation coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard.