Why not Activated? The Temporary Protection Directive and the Mystery of Temporary Protection in the European Union

Abstract

Following the conflicts in former Yugoslavia, temporary protection was introduced as a crucial element of the European Union’s (EU) response to refugee crises. The EU even adopted a directive, the Temporary Protection Directive, regarding its implementation. However, despite several refugee crises, it was not activated. Building on a comprehensive analysis of official documents of European institutions and the available secondary literature, this article investigates the main reasons behind its inactivation. It reveals that the real concerns of EU Member States lay in the measures promoting a balance of efforts to provide temporary protection. In other words, Member States’ concerns over responsibility and burden sharing cast a shadow over temporary protection in the EU. The article concludes that the Directive’s inactivation indicates a crisis of fundamental principles in European integration. Keywords: asylum, European Union, refugee crisis, temporary protection, solidarity