The principle of solidarity in asylum and migration within the context of the European Union accession process

Abstract

This article addresses the question of the principle of solidarity in the fields of asylum and migration within the context of accession negotiations between the European Union and the candidate countries for EU membership. When a candidate country fulfils the membership conditions, it is expected that they will share the values of solidarity, mutual assistance and burden sharing in the fields of asylum and migration which will naturally impinge on their state sovereignty. This article is based on the hypothesis that solidarity in the field of asylum and migration has not been discussed within the enlargement process, meaning that the ‘new’ Member States were not aware of the concrete forms that this principle could take in the future. This hypothesis was tested on three case studies by analysing the accession documents of one candidate country from each of the three enlargement cycles (Slovenia, Bulgaria and Croatia respectively). This article concludes by showing that by agreeing to the EU Treaties, its solidarity clause and the majority vote rules, either as Member States or candidates, the states undertook the duty to transpose obligations in the fields of asylum and migration, even if they did not necessarily agree with them.