Current news

New Pact on Migration and Asylum

The European Commission had repeatedly postponed the ‘New Pact on Migration and Asylum,’ which was finally published on 23 September 2020. Its contents and implications can be difficult to identify, since the ‘Pact’ comprises many instruments whose technical detail can be of enormous importance. Daniel Thym gives a first overview in the introductory contribution (‘European Realpolitik: Legislative Uncertainties und Operational Pitfalls of the "New" Pact on Migration and Asylum’) to a 'special…

Read more

 

 

German Free Movement Act: Brexit and Access to Social Benefits

Just in time before the expiration of the transitional period on 31 December 2020, the German Bundestag is about to adopt the domestic legislation on technical guidance on the application of the Withdrawal Agreement. Daniel Thym was invited to express his views on the legislative project as an expert in the Home Affairs Committee. His written statements and the oral intervention in parliament (both in German) discuss the effects of Brexit and other important aspects of the bill, such as enhanced…

Annual Report of the German Expert Council on Integration and Migration

In it’s latest Annual Report, the German Expert Council on Integration and Migration, of which Daniel Thym is the vice-chairperson, explores the state and future direction of migratory movements and policy developments between Africa and Europe (in German). Following the paradigmatic title ‘Acting together’ (Gemeinsam gestalten), the Report highlights the factual situation and the dilemmas underlying policy decisions, including the novel proposal of the temporary work permit under the condition…

Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC)

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has given the green light for a new Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) as a decentral confederation of eleven universities and institutes from across Germany (in German). Prof. Dr. Daniel Thym serves as a spokesperson of the branch at the University of Konstanz. Academics of the RISC team at the University of Konstanz come from different disciplines within the broader field of cultural studies and will focus on theoretical inspection of…

Border Controls in Times of the Corona Epidemy

States can resort to extraordinary measures in times of crisis, but discretionary powers are limited. Daniel Thym analysis the wave of border controls and travel restrictions at the internal and external borders of the Schengen arera that have been implemented in recent days in a blogpost for the Odysseus Network ('Travel Bans in Europe: A Legal Appraisal - Part I & Part II') and a previous contribution in German for Legal Tribune Online (’Grenzkontrollen wegen Coronavirus: Wer noch reisen darf,…

Situation in Greece and ECtHR Judgment on ‘Hot Expulsions’

The external borders of the European Union are in the spotlight again. Daniel Thym discusses the validity of arguments the Greek violate human rights and EU asylum law in two interviews (in German) with FAZ Einspruch (‘Mit Humanität und Härte’) and ZEIT Online (‘Deutschland macht eigentlich das Gleiche wie die Griechen’). One important element of the legal assessment is a landmark judgment of the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR, which found recently that the Spanish practice of ‘hot expulsions’ to be…