Readmission Policies in Europe
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 October 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 October 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0259
- LAST REVIEWED: 25 October 2017
- LAST MODIFIED: 25 October 2017
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195389678-0259
Introduction
According to EU law, readmission pertains to the removal of persons who do not or no longer fulfill the conditions of entry to, presence in, or residence in a destination country. Today, readmission has become a major crossover issue, weaving its way through various bilateral talks, ranging from the fight against terrorism to energy security, visa facilitation, development aid, social protection, and other diplomatic and strategic matters. To understand the reasons readmission has become so pervasive, it is important to analyze the drivers that have been conducive to its unprecedented importance in migration and asylum talks between the EU and its member states, on the one hand, and non-EU countries, on the other. The analysis of such drivers lies at the intersection of various disciplines, including political science, international relations, law, anthropology, sociology, and history, to name but a few. Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1999, which empowered the European Commission to negotiate and conclude EU readmission agreements (EURAs) with non-EU (third) countries, the academic literature on this highly politicized and sensitive issue has grown substantially. Predictably, given the normative approach that initially shaped academic debates about whether or not the reacceptance of irregular nationals constitutes an obligation under customary international law, (European) lawyers became the most prominent commentators on readmission matters. The prominence of their discipline coincided with the desire of the European Union to design normatively established rules and administrative procedures aimed at removing irregular migrants and rejected asylum-seekers, in line with internationally recognized standards. Incidentally, in 1994 the Council of the European Union recommended a specimen bilateral readmission agreement, including various provisions and reciprocal commitments among the contracting parties, to be used as a basis for negotiations between a member state and a third country. Concomitantly, as the cobweb of bilateral agreements was expanding across continents, while involving highly heterogeneous countries having contrasting vested interests, political scientists and international relations scholars started to address state actors’ motivations to cooperate on readmission, as well as their respective contingencies and manifold practices. The gap between reciprocal commitments and practice was bridged with the introduction of various heuristic devices. More recently, anthropologists and sociologists have analyzed the consequences of readmission policies on migrants’ safety and psychosocial conditions, in the broadest sense, once they are removed to a third country. Manifestly, the field of investigation on readmission is huge, and interdisciplinary research is much needed. Hence, going beyond disciplinary dogmatism is a necessity.
General Overviews
The growing literature on readmission policies in Europe coincides with the major reforms introduced following the adoption of the Treaty of Amsterdam. Among many others, these reforms marked a watershed in the recognition of a supranational competence, shared with the member states, in the field of “illegal migration” and the “repatriation of illegal residents.” From a legal point of view, Schieffer 2003, Trauner and Kruse 2008, and Coleman 2009 provide a comprehensive analysis with reference to the abovementioned post–Treaty of Amsterdam legal and institutional reforms in Justice and Home Affairs. More recently, Gallagher and David 2014 and Carrera 2016 have extensively analyzed the legal rationale for readmission agreements, their various levels of implementation (Ellermann 2009), and their impact on migrants’ human rights, especially following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. Tensions between supranationalism and resilient bilateralism in the field of readmission are detailed in Cassarino 2010.
Carrera, Sergio. 2016. Implementation of EU readmission agreements: Identity determination dilemmas and the blurring of rights. London: Springer International.
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-42505-4
This study focuses on a key aspect of the implementation of readmission agreements: identity determination. It also captures the unsaid tensions between states’ international human rights obligations and their declared intention to accelerate the removal of irregular foreigners.
Cassarino, Jean-Pierre. 2010. Readmission policy in the European Union. Brussels: European Parliament.
Providing added value to member states’ modus operandi and practices as applied to the cooperation on readmission with third countries has been a daunting challenge for the European Union. With reference to the reforms introduced following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, this study comprehensively analyzes the conditions under which the EU has tried to address this challenge, in a context marked by resilient tensions between supranationalism and bilateralism.
Coleman, Nils. 2009. European readmission policy: Third country interests and refugee rights. Leiden, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.
Coleman’s book is a key reference when analyzing how the EU has shared its competence in the field of readmission with its member states, once the Treaty of Amsterdam was adopted in 1999. Numerous chapters deal in a detailed manner with the history of readmission; states’ obligations under international law, including the principle of non-refoulement; how and why the Commission was mandated to negotiate a readmission agreement; and which material incentives were considered.
Ellermann, Antje. 2009. States against migrants: Deportation in Germany and the United States. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
The author analyzes the capacity of the liberal democratic state to control individuals within its borders. The book grapples with the question of why, in the 1990s, Germany responded to vociferous public demands for stricter immigration control by passing and implementing far-reaching policy reforms, while the United States failed to effectively respond to a comparable public mandate. Ellermann finds that these cross-national differences reflect institutionally determined variations in socially coercive state capacity.
Gallagher, Anne T., and Fiona David. 2014. The international law of migrant smuggling. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press.
Chapter 10 (pp. 664–734) provides an updated and detailed overview of how the cooperation on readmission has been legally addressed at EU and bilateral levels. Scholars interested in understanding the limitations on states’ rights to remove smuggled migrants will find much in this chapter.
Schieffer, Martin. 2003. Community readmission agreements with third countries—Objectives, substance and current state of negotiations. European Journal of Migration and Law 5.3: 343–357.
DOI: 10.1163/157181603322599279
A study, written by an official of the European Commission working for Justice and Home Affairs, which explains the mechanisms through which the EU was conferred power to negotiate readmission agreements with third countries and the challenges lying ahead for the Commission.
Trauner, Florian, and Imke Kruse. 2008. EC visa facilitation and readmission agreements: A new standard EU foreign policy tool? European Journal of Migration and Law 10.4: 411–438.
Linking visa facilitation with effective cooperation on readmission, at the EU level, has implications for the EU’s domestic policies and for its external relations. The authors comprehensively assess the costs and benefits of this issue-linkage while referring to negotiations with third countries located in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work
- Abortion
- Adolescent Depression
- Adolescent Pregnancy
- Adolescents
- Adoption
- Adoption Home Study Assessments
- Adult Protective Services in the United States
- African Americans
- Aging
- Aging out of foster care
- Aging, Physical Health and
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse Problems
- Alcohol and Drug Problems, Prevention of Adolescent and Yo...
- Alcohol Problems: Practice Interventions
- Alcohol Use Disorder
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- Anti-Oppressive Practice
- Asian Americans
- Asian-American Youth
- Assessment
- Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Baccalaureate Social Workers
- Behavioral Health
- Behavioral Social Work Practice
- Bereavement Practice
- Bisexuality
- Brief Therapies in Social Work: Task-Centered Model and So...
- Bullying and Social Work Intervention
- Canadian Social Welfare, History of
- Case Management in Mental Health in the United States
- Central American Migration to the United States
- Child Maltreatment Prevention
- Child Neglect and Emotional Maltreatment
- Child Poverty
- Child Sexual Abuse
- Child Welfare
- Child Welfare and Child Protection in Europe, History of
- Child Welfare and Parents with Intellectual and/or Develop...
- Child Welfare Effectiveness
- Child Welfare, Immigration and
- Child Welfare Practice with LGBTQ Youth and Families
- Children
- Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Christianity and Social Work
- Chronic Illness
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Adult Lesbians
- Clinical Social Work Practice with Males
- Cognitive Behavior Therapies with Diverse and Stressed Pop...
- Cognitive Processing Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
- Community
- Community Development
- Community Policing
- Community-Based Participatory Research
- Community-Needs Assessment
- Comparative Social Work
- Computational Social Welfare: Applying Data Science in Soc...
- Conflict Resolution
- Council on Social Work Education
- Counseling Female Offenders
- Criminal Justice
- Crisis Interventions
- Cultural Competence and Ethnic Sensitive Practice
- Culture, Ethnicity, Substance Use, and Substance Use Disor...
- Dementia Care
- Dementia Care, Ethical Aspects of
- Depression and Cancer
- Development and Infancy (Birth to Age Three)
- Differential Response in Child Welfare
- Digital Storytelling for Social Work Interventions
- Direct Practice in Social Work
- Disabilities
- Disability and Disability Culture
- Disasters
- Divorce
- Domestic Violence Among Immigrants
- Early Pregnancy and Parenthood Among Child Welfare–Involve...
- Eating Disorders
- Ecological Framework
- Economic Evaluation
- Elder Mistreatment
- End-of-Life Decisions
- Epigenetics for Social Workers
- Ethical Issues in Social Work and Technology
- Ethics and Values in Social Work
- Ethnicity
- European Institutions and Social Work
- European Union, Justice and Home Affairs in the
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Finding Evidence
- Evidence-based Social Work Practice: Issues, Controversies...
- Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs
- Families
- Families with Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Parents
- Family Caregiving
- Family Group Conferencing
- Family Policy
- Family Services
- Family Therapy
- Family Violence
- Fathering Among Families Served By Child Welfare
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- Field Education
- Financial Literacy and Social Work
- Financing Health-Care Delivery in the United States
- Forensic Social Work
- Foster Care
- Foster care and siblings
- Gay Men
- Gender, Violence, and Trauma in Immigration Detention in t...
- Generalist Practice and Advanced Generalist Practice
- Grounded Theory
- Group Work
- Group Work across Populations, Challenges, and Settings
- Group Work, Research, Best Practices, and Evidence-based
- Harm Reduction
- Health Care Reform
- Health Disparities
- Health Social Work
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1900–1950
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, 1950-1980
- History of Social Work and Social Welfare, pre-1900
- History of Social Work from 1980-2014
- History of Social Work in China
- History of Social Work in Northern Ireland
- History of Social Work in the Republic of Ireland
- History of Social Work in the United Kingdom
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS and Children
- HIV/AIDS Prevention with Adolescents
- Homelessness
- Homelessness: Ending Homelessness as a Grand Challenge
- Homelessness Outside the United States
- Housing
- Human Needs
- Human Trafficking, Victims of
- Immigrant Integration in the United States
- Immigrant Policy in the United States
- Immigrants and Refugees
- Immigrants and Refugees: Evidence-based Social Work Practi...
- Immigration and Health Disparities
- Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence
- Immigration and Poverty
- Immigration and Spirituality
- Immigration and Substance Use
- Immigration and Trauma
- Impact of Emerging Technology in Social Work Practice
- Impaired Professionals
- Implementation Science and Practice
- Indigenous Peoples
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Supported Employmen...
- In-home Child Welfare Services
- Intergenerational Transmission of Maltreatment
- International Human Trafficking
- International Social Welfare
- International Social Work
- International Social Work and Education
- International Social Work and Social Welfare in Southern A...
- Internet and Video Game Addiction
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy
- Intervention with Traumatized Populations
- Interviewing
- Intimate-Partner Violence
- Juvenile Justice
- Kinship Care
- Korean Americans
- Latinos and Latinas
- Law, Social Work and the
- LGBTQ Populations and Social Work
- Life Span
- Mainland European Social Work, History of
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Management and Administration in Social Work
- Maternal Mental Health
- Measurement, Scales, and Indices
- Medical Illness
- Men: Health and Mental Health Care
- Mental Health
- Mental Health Diagnosis and the Addictive Substance Disord...
- Mental Health Needs of Older People, Assessing the
- Mental Health Services from 1990 to 2023
- Mental Illness: Children
- Mental Illness: Elders
- Meta-analysis
- Microskills
- Middle East and North Africa, International Social Work an...
- Military Social Work
- Mixed Methods Research
- Moral distress and injury in social work
- Motivational Interviewing
- Multiculturalism
- Native Americans
- Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders
- Neighborhood Social Cohesion
- Neuroscience and Social Work
- Nicotine Dependence
- Occupational Social Work
- Organizational Development and Change
- Pain Management
- Palliative Care
- Palliative Care: Evolution and Scope of Practice
- Pandemics and Social Work
- Parent Training
- Participatory Community Based Research
- Personalization
- Person-in-Environment
- Philosophy of Science and Social Work
- Physical Disabilities
- Podcasts and Social Work
- Police Social Work
- Political Social Work in the United States
- Positive Youth Development
- Postmodernism and Social Work
- Postsecondary Education Experiences and Attainment Among Y...
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Poverty
- Practice Interventions and Aging
- Practice Interventions with Adolescents
- Practice Research
- Primary Prevention in the 21st Century
- Productive Engagement of Older Adults
- Profession, Social Work
- Program Development and Grant Writing
- Promoting Smart Decarceration as a Grand Challenge
- Psychiatric Rehabilitation
- Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamic Theory
- Psychoeducation
- Psychometrics
- Psychopathology and Social Work Practice
- Psychopharmacology and Social Work Practice
- Psychosocial Framework
- Psychosocial Intervention with Women
- Psychotherapy and Social Work
- Qualitative Research
- Race and Racism
- Randomized Controlled Trials in Social Work
- Readmission Policies in Europe
- Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Me...
- Refugee Children, Unaccompanied Immigrant and
- Rehabilitation
- Religiously Affiliated Agencies
- Reproductive Health
- Research
- Research Ethics
- Restorative Justice
- Risk Assessment in Child Protection Services
- Risk Management in Social Work
- Rural Social Work in China
- Rural Social Work Practice
- School Social Work
- School Violence
- School-Based Delinquency Prevention
- Services and Programs for Pregnant and Parenting Youth
- Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: Adults
- Sexual and Gender Minority Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylu...
- Sexual Assault
- Single-System Research Designs
- Social and Economic Impact of US Immigration Policies on U...
- Social Development
- Social Insurance and Social Justice
- Social Intervention Research
- Social Justice and Social Work
- Social Movements
- Social Planning
- Social Policy
- Social Policy in Denmark
- Social Security in the United States (OASDHI)
- Social Work and Islam
- Social Work and Social Welfare in East, West, and Central ...
- Social Work and Social Welfare in Europe
- Social Work Education and Research
- Social Work Leadership
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Contributing to the Cla...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries contributing to the fou...
- Social Work Luminaries: Luminaries Who Contributed to Soci...
- Social Work Practice, Rare and Orphan Diseases and
- Social Work Regulation
- Social Work Research Methods
- Social Work Theory
- Social Work with Interpreters
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Strategic Planning
- Strengths Perspective
- Strengths-Based Models in Social Work
- Suicide
- Supplemental Security Income
- Survey Research
- Sustainability: Creating Social Responses to a Changing En...
- Syrian Refugees in Turkey
- Systematic Review Methods
- Task-Centered Practice
- Technology Adoption in Social Work Education
- Technology for Social Work Interventions
- Technology, Human Relationships, and Human Interaction
- Technology in Social Work
- Terminal Illness
- Terrorism
- The Impact of Systemic Racism on Latinxs’ Experiences with...
- Transdisciplinary Science
- Translational Science and Social Work
- Transnational Perspectives in Social Work
- Transtheoretical Model of Change
- Trauma
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Triangulation
- Tribal child welfare practice in the United States
- Unions
- United States, History of Social Welfare in the
- Universal Basic Income
- Veteran Services
- Vicarious Trauma and Resilience in Social Work Practice wi...
- Vicarious Trauma Redefining PTSD
- Victim Services
- Violence
- Virtual Reality and Social Work
- Welfare State Reform in France
- Welfare State Theory
- Women and Macro Social Work Practice
- Women's Health Care
- Work and Family in the German Welfare State
- Workfare
- Workforce Development of Social Workers Pre- and Post-Empl...
- Working with Non-Voluntary and Mandated Clients
- Young and Adolescent Lesbians
- Youth at Risk
- Youth Services