Europe, overcoming the challenges of post-World War II revival and decolonization, chose to pursue the path of European recovery while confronting American hegemony and the socialist countries spread across the Eurasian continent, and chose to organize through international organizations based on European values, namely human rights, democracy, and a market economy.
The Refugee Convention was established as the basis for international cooperation to resolve the refugee problem in Europe after World War II, and since then, the acceptance of refugees has been strengthened through the expanded interpretation of the Refugee Convention, including the influence of support for the democratic system during the Cold War, the development of human rights standards, and labor for the development of the European market economy. Even after the Cold War, these values have been used as the axis to further promote European integration, and the refugee screening system based on the ideology of human rights and humanitarianism has been a factor that attracts people who wish to live in Europe in search of a better life. Taking advantage of this, the concept of a safe country was introduced to address the problem of an increase in people seeking to emigrate to Europe, and a policy was developed to restrict entry into the European Union. In addition, a high wall was built on entry into the European Union, and a foreign policy was developed to shift the burden to countries outside the European Union.
Even within the EU, the responsibility for refugee screening was placed on the first country of entry, which increased the burden on Southern and Eastern Europe, which were the EU’s refugee reception centers. Since freedom of movement is guaranteed within the EU when refugees are recognized, the influx of refugees is concentrated in Western European countries with better working conditions, and this is thought to have been one of the factors leading to differences in economic conditions among EU member states.
Meanwhile, in leading EU countries such as Germany, France, and the UK, where people of various religions, races, and ethnic backgrounds live as refugees or immigrants, terrorist incidents, anti-immigration movements, and dissatisfaction with the EU are also revealed, which are in conflict with the spirit of tolerance. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU will also have a major impact on the future EU system. Many policy decisions in the EU were made by a highly bureaucratic system called the democratic deficit, and issues such as reflecting public opinion were also discussed in various policies.
The recent large-scale movement of refugees and immigrants seems to be making clear the characteristics or contradictions of the purpose and operation of the EU legal system. It also shows that the integration solidarity in norms and policies will be ineffective if it does not gain public support and does not actually work to share the burden. The EU’s common asylum policy does not anticipate such a large-scale movement of refugees and immigrants, and although a new legal system is desirable for the future, no groundbreaking solution has been proposed, and it is expected that the EU will be forced to respond in a difficult way in the medium to long term.
This paper aims to examine the characteristics of the legal policies related to refugees and immigration, and to clarify what challenges arise when faced with the large-scale movement of people. In particular, in relation to the mass influx of people due to refugees and immigrants, I will examine the problems of immigration and refugee laws revealed by the gaps between countries, the temperature difference in response, and the movement that seems to run counter to solidarity, such as avoidance of burden sharing. Specifically, (1) the Palestinian refugee problem as seen from the Israel-Gaza War, (2) the refugee problem after the coup in Myanmar, and (3) the Russia-Ukraine War and the refugee problem are examined as actual cases. In addition, after examining the EU’s attempts and limitations in establishing a reciprocal system surrounding refugee and immigration issues, the conclusion calls for a change in thinking to resolve the refugee and immigration issues.
Currently, as the second term of the Trump administration begins, the United States is carrying out forced deportation of illegal immigrants and others without regard to the consequences. This is causing enormous side effects, and we should pay attention to the direction in which the U.S. refugee and immigration policy will flow in the future. Korea were the first in Asia to enact a refugee law, but Korea is very stingy in accepting actual refugees. This is not an argument for expanding refugee acceptance indiscriminately. We all need to think about why this situation is unfolding.