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The Cruelty of Containment: The Mental Health Toll of the EU’s ‘Hotspot’ Approach on the Greek Islands
c) A fresh start: The need for meaningful solidarity and responsibility-sharing In a Union without internal border controls and which takes pride in solidarity as a founding value, geography alone should not determine responsibility for welcoming new arrivals. Instead, all EU member states should accept responsibility for assessing asylum claims, and relocate new arrivals from frontline member states. However, this has not been the case to date. Instead, current ad-hoc schemes are small in scale, and the recent proposals stop short of introducing large-scale and automatic relocation. Indeed, earlier proposals for a mandatory system to redistribute asylum-seekers, long favoured by southern countries, have been removed due to the lack of support from a sufficient number of member states. Instead, they have been replaced with a more complex system in the new Pact, in which different forms of solidarity can be triggered.113 Closer to a voluntary approach, the new solidarity measures can be expressed flexibly, depending on the circumstances. This can be done through relocation, operational support (also to third countries)
or return sponsorship. Solidarity measures only become compulsory in situations of ‘migratory pressure’ (high numbers of people arriving) and disembarkation from search and rescue operations.114 While Commissioner Johannsson has confirmed that the current situation in Greece would qualify as one of migratory pressure,115 the new proposals still stop short of fundamentally reforming the Dublin system, so the default responsibility for assessing asylum claims would likely continue to remain with the first country of arrival.116 It will therefore be a significant challenge to overcome the first country of entry principle as a go-to option. This reality, coupled with the newly introduced border procedures, will probably increase rather than decrease the pressure on border countries. This overshadows positive plans within the Pact to strengthen family ties and to include new criteria such as educational diplomas when identifying member states for relocation. In addition, the new proposal for ‘return sponsorships’ as an option for demonstrating solidarity raises numerous practical, human rights and legal concerns.117 Returns of people to third countries often flounder due to lack of robust agreements between both states. This increases
The winter is very, very cold and my tent fills with rain water. In the summer, it is very hot inside the tent during the day but very cold during the night. I am terrified about having to spend another winter here.” Sayo, 17-year old boy from Sierra Leone. Vathy camp, Samos island, Greece. September 2020.
