The use and application of the ‘safe third country’ concept within the EU: an instance of securitization of migration and violation of the principle of non-refoulement

Abstract

In recent years, mass migration flows have arrived in the European shores. Every day, people fleeing from persecution, conflicts or searching for a better future are arriving in Europe. Since 2015 and the arrival of thousands of migrants, migration management in Europe is characterized by emergency. One solution to mitigate the arrivals of irregular migrants was the externalization of migration management and the cooperation with third countries. In 2016, the EU-Türkiye Statement was enforced and the ‘safe third country’ notion was applied. The aim of this research was to analyze the use and application of the ‘safe third country’ notion within the EU through the lens of securitization theory and legal analysis. The following research displayed that the use and application of the ‘safe third country’ notion can be conceptualized as an instance of securitization of migration, and that could be incompatible with the realization of refugees’ rights and more specifically with the principle of non-refoulement. Eight years after the enforcement of the EU-Türkiye Deal and the designation of Türkiye as a safe third country allowed us to showcase the political and legal implications of the application of the notion and to conclude that extensive cooperation with third countries maybe is not the way to move forward.