EU Refugee Protection Rights and Social Law Disparities

Thousands of people are looking for a safer and better life in the European Union. A recent comparative study by the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy reveals that refugee protection rights are very different within the EU. For instance, the actual provisions inform that the minimum standards are implemented in very different ways at the national level, and this has serious consequences for the individual in some cases. The comparison of subsistence payments reveals not only a discrepancy in cash payments, but also it demonstrates that a larger number of states do not base their payments on the level of social security assistance provided.

Discrepancies in EU Subsistence Payments

The study concludes that: “Such provisions clearly run the risk of failing to comply with the subsistence minimum.” A general trend for reducing cash payments and replacing them with benefits in kind can also be observed. To analyze the different dimensions of the social protection afforded to refugees, in addition to subsistence payments, the 16 participating scientists created three other categories:

• Medical care
• Access to the labour market
• Nature of the accommodation provided

The fact that this has proved impossible in the context of the current refugee crisis is also due to “inadequate preparation in many countries.”

Barriers to Healthcare and Employment

Firstly, with regard to healthcare, the authors established that while all of the surveyed countries provide services, disparities remain. Secondly, on the one hand, taking up employment could enable asylum seekers to provide for themselves, but on the other hand, the majority of countries apply very restrictive regulations to labour market access. Moreover, in countries like Germany, Austria, and Greece, priority is given to citizens of the EU and states associated with it. The conclusion reached by the study is that: “The national governments clearly aim not to enable a large number of asylum seekers to take up employment.”

The Need for a Unified European Asylum Policy

To sum up, this comparative study reveals deficits in the EU asylum system and provides impetus for its development. What is required is a European asylum policy that provides binding and solidarity-based regulations for the acceptance of refugees. This would include providing EU support to border states for the reception of refugees in the context of the Dublin system. Moreover, the practices relating to the granting of asylum should be standardized and agreement should be reached on a binding solution for the distribution of refugees across the EU Member States.