The EU Screening Regulation Proposal and the Right to Asylum - Cementing Fortress Europe?

This paper aims to offer a perspective on the 1951 Convention’s aging process by exploring how it In September 2020, the European Commission adopted a New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Part of the legislative and non-legislative initiatives under the New Pact is a proposal for a Regulation on screening third country nationals at external borders. This paper is concerned with the compatibility of the new proposal with the right to asylum and how it responds to the notion of ‘Fortress Europe’. The normative framework on the right to asylum is set out to test how it is reflected in the Screening Regulation proposal and its implications on the right to asylum. The paper finds that the proposed Screening Regulation is not compatible with the right to asylum. The findings also suggest policymakers intend to focus on securitisation efforts and legitimising extraordinary measures against migration and refugee flows in Europe, cementing Fortress Europe.