European Union

Debating Free Movement in Switzerland and the UK – Swexit and Brexit

02.06.2016 , in ((Politics)) , ((1 Comment))

With the upcoming referendum on Britain’s stay in the European Union – the so-called Brexit vote – and the deadline for reaching an agreement on the implementation of the “Mass Immigration Initiative” coming closer, Great Britain and Switzerland are facing difficulties in their relations with their most important economic partner, the European Union. A comparison of the two situations reveals similarities and differences. ...

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The EU-Turkey Deal on Refugees: “No Big Deal”?

28.04.2016 , in ((Politics)) , ((No Comments))

On 4 April 2016, a group of around 197 migrants and refugees was returned to Turkey as part of the “EU-Turkey deal on refugees”. A second group was returned four days later. The legal basis for these returns is a ‘deal’ between the European Council and its Turkish counterpart – and not the EU-Turkey readmission agreement, though both serve to send irregular migrants back to Turkey. What is the difference between them, and what is the ‘big deal’ actually all about? ...

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Expulsion, Readmission Agreements and ‘Non-Refoulement’

07.04.2016 , in ((What do we mean by…)) , ((No Comments))

Return, readmission, expulsion… these notions are often used in the same context, lately also when referring to the EU/Turkey deal that has attracted the (well-deserved) attention of the media. But what do we mean with ‘readmission’, and why could it be problematic from the point of view of international human rights and refugee law? ...

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