Understanding Refugee Protection as a European Public Good: Shifting from Flexible to Mandatory Flexible Solidarity

This chapter aims to explore the “European” nature of refugee protection when provided by the EU. Since it is provided by the EU and offers non-rival and non-excludable benefits, it can be considered European. However, for refugee protection to become a European public good, national governments must include all necessary legislation in their national legal systems to ensure effective protection at the EU level. Since solidarity (unanimity in voting) is one of the cornerstones of EU migration and asylum policy, there is often no need for Member States to incorporate such provisions into national law. The lack of solidarity among European government contributes to a deficiency in effective refugee protection provision. Divergent opinions regarding the merits and drawbacks of granting asylum to refugees hinder collective action, resulting in the ineffective integration of this policy area.