The Fragmentation of Reception Conditions for Asylum Seekers in the European Union: Protecting Fundamental Rights or Preventing Long-Term Integration?

This article investigates the unequal treatment of asylum seekers across the
European Union (EU). In particular, this article explores the way in which Directive
2013/33/EU (the “Reception Conditions Directive”) itself allows for the creation of
different categories of asylum seekers who enjoy variable reception conditions as a
result. This runs counter the stated objective of the Reception Conditions Directive to
harmonise reception conditions in the EU. The fragmented treatment of asylum seekers
has become more acute with the current “refugee crisis”, which has highlighted the
deficiencies inherent in the reception system created by the Reception Conditions
Directive. This article hypothesises that this is caused by the underlying double
objective of the EU reception system, namely, to protect the fundamental rights of
asylum seekers, while preventing secondary movements within the EU. Examining
both the situation at the EU level and in three EU Member States, the article shows the
particular challenges of the EU reception system grappling with its seemingly
irreconcilable double objective. In the end, the article concludes by pointing out the
risk of dismantling asylum by giving in to migration management objectives in the
current context.