Health Emergency and Asylum Law in the European Union

The rapid spread of COVID-19 in Europe has led to the further deterioration of the crisis concerning the application of the provisions of European Union (EU) asylum law in most Member States. Accordingly, this article aims to shed light on the impact that the health emergency is having on the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This requires a twofold legal analysis. First, the article discusses whether health emergencies, like that caused by COVID-19, should affect the scope of States’ obligations stemming from the CEAS, such as the principle of non-refoulement and access to asylum procedures. In this connection, it reviews, in light of international law obligations and the EU border control regime, the policy responses and legislative measures adopted by EU Member States during the first few weeks of the pandemic that resulted in the closure of borders to asylum seekers. Secondly, the article investigates whether the CEAS legal toolbox contains adequate provisions that can be applied in emergency situations. Thus it analyses the impact of the health emergency on reception conditions for asylum seekers. Based on the findings of this twofold analysis, it is concluded that certain rights, such as the right to seek asylum, cannot be suspended – not even during a situation of health emergency – and that it is all the more urgent to redesign a CEAS that takes account of the challenges posed by future situations of health emergency.