European governance of deterrence and containment. A legal perspective on novelties in European and Danish asylum policy

This article confronts novelties in Danish asylum policy with current and future EU standards from the perspective of deterrence and containment. The interaction between Danish policy and EU harmonisation is discussed to identify the aims and measures reflecting deterrence strategies. In this context, the terminology routinely used to depict and analyse these phenomena is reconsidered with a view to enhance understanding of the regulatory and physical barriers hindering access to territory, procedures and eventually protection. As these barriers include non-arrival and non-admission measures it is proposed to adjust the conceptual approach and focus on containment in parallel with deterrent measures. EU asylum policy is increasingly characterised by deterrence and containment of asylum seekers, yet recent Danish policy initiatives go even further in restricting asylum rights. The ‘paradigm shift’ towards temporary asylum has resulted in the revocation of asylum for Syrian refugees with subsidiary or temporary protection and in secondary movements of ‘former refugees’ to neighbouring countries with different protection policies. In addition, plans for transferring asylum seekers to a non-European country have been introduced in Danish legislation. These national developments have raised complex issues under EU law leading to the entanglement between legal and political aspects of asylum governance.