European Asylum Policies: Iberia, the Peripheral Borders of a Common Wall
The current refugee crisis is placing into question the Fortress Europe built since the 1990s. The common European asylum policy was established as a measure to harmonize policies and practices of the various Member States, a common denominator intended to conciliate the various historical and particular geopolitical interests of particular States. The current crisis challenges the common interests by exposing the particular interests of each State and its position towards the European Wall, under redefinition, with the construction of new internal barriers in order to oppose the apparent collapse of the common external wall. In this context, Portugal and Spain emerge as countries where the number of asylum seekers is, in the European context, relatively peripheral. However, they are at the forefront of one of the fronts of the European fence to potential migrant flows. The purpose of this communication is to analyze how evolved migrant flows (economic and refugees) to the Iberian Peninsula, and how Portugal and Spain entered in the European process by adhering to its common policies by introducing them in their national practices, but also their resilience and discretion face the remaining flows of colonial heritage and humanitarian public demands, and what is their role in the management of the current crisis.
Lúcio Sousa . lucio.sousa@uab.pt
Universidade Aberta
Assistant Professor at Universidade Aberta and integrated researcher at CEMRI – Migration Center for Studies and Intercultural Relations, and collaborator researcher at IELT – Institute of Literature and Tradition Studies.
Paulo Manuel Costa . pmcosta@uab.pt
Universidade Aberta
Assistant Professor at the Universidade Aberta and Researcher at CEMRI – Migration Center for Studies and Intercultural Relations and ELO – Mobile Unit of Research in Local Studies.