Filling the Gap of the Dublin System: A Soft Cosmopolitan Approach

Abstract

This paper analyses the European legislation on asylum, the so-called ‘Dublin System’, finding three main issues affecting it a) the allocation of refugees between member states; b) the differences between member states in the treatment of asylum seekers and asylum applications; and c) the differences in the rights granted to the refugee status across member states. In addition, it examines the European Agenda on Migration that represents the official response of the EU to the present crisis. In the last section, it presents some proposal aimed to improve the European managing of refugees and asylum seekers. Following a moderated cosmopolitan approach, I propose the establishment of a limited citizenship for refugees that might be thought as a temporary citizenship conditioned to the possession of the refugee status. At this particular citizenship, one may apply different rights, but to face the issues encountered, it may be sufficient to connect to it only the freedom of movement and residence throughout the EU. I argue that such a policy would have a number of advantages and could at least partially solve the issues currently present in the European asylum policy.