'Passing the Buck': European Union Refugee Policies towards Central and Eastern Europe

The central instrument of this is the 'safe third country' rule. While much of the contemporary debate on Western European asylum policies concentrates on the exclusionary character of this new instrument, only little attention is paid to its impact on the Union's neighbouring states.

This article addresses the extent to which intergovernmental harmonizations in asylum and immigration matters have expanded to the field of external relations and triggered the adoption of corresponding policies in other European states. Here, it distinguishes between the transborder effects of intergovernmental forms of cooperation(Schengen, TREVI), activities under the Third Pillar of the European Union, and bilateral processes between EU Member States and third countries.