The European reception system and its conditions in times of COVID-19: gatopardism and the placebo effect

Abstract

Since the COVID-19 health crisis broke out, the EU and its member states have promoted numerous measures to control its impact on the European reception system. Most of the legislative changes proposed at national level have focused largely on addressing the exceptional nature of the situation. Numerous measures have been implemented, and yet the pre-existing and inherent problems and structural deficiencies of the asylum process have been laid bare and remain unsolved. This article proposes a critical normative analysis of reception conditions and the measures specifically implemented at European level from 2020 onwards. It aims to identify trends (gatopardism or changing in order to stay the same/placebo effect) and analyse the missed opportunities in the practical implementation of adequate reception standards to match the circumstances and singularities of each member state.

Keywords

• european union
• member states
• reception
• refugees
• asylum seekers
• pandemic
• covid-19