Socio-political issues The crisis contributed to rising concerns among segments of the EU population, including fears of
Islamization—understood by some as pressure, either political or through acts of
Islamic terrorism, to impose social, moral, legal and cultural norms associated with
Islam at the expense of local norms. Additional concerns include the emergence of parallel societies, with claims that some neighbourhoods have become so-called
no-go areas where linguistic and cultural integration is limited, and where informal norms enforced by community groups may conflict with national law. Such sentiments have been influenced not only by attention to areas such as
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean but also by a sharp increase in attacks attributed to jihadists in the
European Union. The number of such attacks rose from four in 2014 to seventeen in 2015, while fatalities increased from four to 150. Other events, such as the
2015–16 New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany, although unrelated to terrorism, heightened public concern regarding social integration. Criticism also arose in response to perceived attempts by authorities and some media outlets to downplay or delay reporting on the events, which undermined public trust in coverage of sensitive issues. These concerns have influenced political discourse across the EU. Some politicians have sought to capitalise on or amplify public anxieties by opposing the reception of migrants, citing security considerations related to
Islamic terrorism in Europe, as well as perceived economic, social, cultural and religious risks associated with large-scale migration. In several EU member states, previously marginalised elements of the
far right have gained increased visibility in mainstream politics. Supporters of the EU’s migration and asylum policies, including representatives of the European Commission and several member states, emphasise the need to uphold international obligations and prioritise the security and rights of migrants. In September 2022, Finland, Poland and the
Baltic countries announced that they would not offer refuge to
Russians fleeing the
2022 Russian mobilization during the invasion of Ukraine. Estonian Prime Minister
Kaja Kallas stated: "Every citizen is responsible for the actions of their state, and citizens of Russia are no exception. Therefore, we do not give asylum to Russian men who flee their country. They should oppose the war." As of 2024, France was the only EU member state admitting Russian
deserters without a passport and allowing them to apply for asylum.
Fortress Europe , Slovenia, 22 October 2015 and Italian Prime Minister
Giorgia Meloni visiting the migrant hotspot in Lampedusa, 2023 During the migration crisis, the EU's approach increasingly shifted toward surveillance and securitisation. One early step was the termination of
Operation Mare Nostrum in 2014 and its replacement with
Operation Triton. By 2016, the EU had begun
externalising border control through a €3 billion agreement with Turkey. In 2017, EU migration policy was further tightened. At a summit held in Brussels on 19 October 2017, EU leaders emphasised the need to consolidate efforts to ensure full control over the Union's external borders. Since 2017, humanitarian NGOs conducting
search and rescue (SAR) operations in the Mediterranean have increasingly faced restrictions and criminal investigations by some EU member states, including the arrest of ship captains and the seizure of vessels. These actions prompted international criticism and accusations that the EU was neglecting its responsibilities regarding SAR operations. Critics argue that impediments to NGO activities have contributed to migrant deaths at sea, contradicting stated EU commitments to protecting refugees and migrants. Despite these challenges, humanitarian NGOs continue to conduct SAR operations in the Mediterranean. Another notable development has been the construction of
numerous border barriers along the external borders of the
Schengen Area. The conclusions of the European Council have also emphasised readiness to prevent irregular border crossings, including through the return of asylum applicants to neighbouring countries such as
Ukraine,
Turkey, or Russia, where refugee-status determination systems have been criticised as inadequate. The Roma rights organisation
Chachipe has criticised EU asylum policy under the "safe country of origin" doctrine, arguing that Roma from the
former Yugoslavia face discrimination in their home countries. Human rights considerations have increasingly come into tension with security measures, and the EU has struggled to balance the two. Policies in several member states have become more stringent toward migrants perceived as violating public order or imposing incompatible social norms. Critics argue that such measures may lead to broader restrictions affecting all migrants, and some express concern that these restrictions could eventually extend to the general population if normalised.
Use of migrants as weapons in hybrid warfare Following the deterioration of
Belarus–European Union relations, Belarusian president
Alexander Lukashenko threatened around 7 July 2021 to "flood" the European Union (EU) with
human traffickers,
drug smugglers, and
armed migrants. Subsequently, Belarusian authorities and state-controlled tourist companies, together with several airlines operating in the
Middle East, began promoting tours to Belarus by increasing flight connections from the region and issuing
Belarusian visas, ostensibly for hunting trips. Social media groups also circulated misleading advice on border-crossing procedures to prospective migrants, many of whom aimed to reach Germany. According to migrant testimonies, Belarusian authorities provided instructions on where and how to trespass the
European Union border, including guidance on what to say to border guards once inside EU territory. Some migrants stated that Belarus supplied tools such as wire cutters and axes to breach border fences; however, those who failed to cross were often forced to remain near the border by Belarusian authorities, who were accused of assaulting some migrants. Belarus later acknowledged that involvement by its border troops was "absolutely possible". Belarus also refused to allow Polish
humanitarian aid to reach the migrants, including tents and sleeping bags. Poland, Lithuania and Latvia characterised the situation as
hybrid warfare, describing it as an incident of state-facilitated
human trafficking aimed at destabilising the EU. In response, all three countries declared states of emergency and announced plans to construct
border barriers on their frontiers with Belarus. Poland approved approximately €353 million to build a fence. The EU deployed additional border officers and patrol vehicles to Lithuania, and 12 EU governments publicly expressed support for constructing a physical barrier along the EU's external border. Comparable, though smaller-scale, actions were attributed to Turkey during the
2020 Greek–Turkish border crisis and to Morocco during the
2021 Morocco–Spain border incident. In February 2016, Turkish president
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that Turkey could
send the millions of refugees hosted in the country to EU member states, stating: "We can open the doors to Greece and Bulgaria anytime and we can put the refugees on buses ... So how will you deal with refugees if you don't get a deal? Kill the refugees?" In March 2025, Poland suspended the right to apply for asylum at the
Belarus–Poland border, a move that received support from the
European Commission.
Externalization of the asylum procedures The externalization of asylum procedures is a migration policy pursued by several countries of the
European Union (EU). It involves relocating the reception and accommodation of asylum seekers, as well as the processing of their asylum applications, to areas near the EU's external borders or to countries outside the EU from which asylum seekers originate or through which they transit. Following attempts in the early 2000s to relocate asylum procedures to centres at the EU's borders, these policies contributed, from 2003 onward, to an expansion of exile camps in and around the EU. They also placed pressure on neighbouring countries to develop systems capable of examining asylum claims within their territories and were associated with a tightening of migration policies both in neighbouring states and within the EU itself. As part of the externalization of asylum procedures, Italy and Albania signed a migration protocol in November 2023 granting Italy jurisdiction to operate two migrant facilities on Albanian territory for at least five years, a policy implemented in 2024 that by October 2025 had led to the detention of only a limited number of migrants, most of whom were returned to Italy following judicial decisions. The detention centre in
Gjadër has been criticised by politicians and human rights observers for its lack of transparency, prison-like conditions, and serious risks to detainees’ mental health, including reports of frequent self-harm, suicide attempts, and inadequate access to legal and medical safeguards.
Migration deals {{Image frame|align=right|border=no|width=300|content= The
European Union has concluded aid packages with several countries in exchange for cooperation on preventing irregular migration and, in some cases, for the externalization of migration and asylum procedures.
Asylum shopping In the terminology of European institutions, asylum shopping refers to the practice of asylum seekers attempting to lodge an application in a country other than the one designated by existing regulations, often selecting the state that offers the most favourable reception conditions or submitting a new application after a previous rejection. The term is used to describe certain asylum seekers in analogy with consumers of welfare provisions. This understanding appears in official documents, media coverage, and academic analyses. A major factor influencing asylum seekers' choice of destination is the variation in asylum laws across EU Member States; some states grant refugee status to the majority of applicants, while others accept fewer than 1%. In 2017, Maria Teresa Rivera became the first woman known to receive asylum on the grounds of being wrongfully imprisoned under an abortion ban. She had been convicted in
El Salvador and was granted asylum in
Sweden. According to former
European Commissioner for Justice Franco Frattini, approximately 12% of asylum seekers engage in asylum shopping. The implementation of the
Dublin Regulation has considerably limited this practice. Under the Regulation, asylum seekers are generally required to apply for protection in the first EU Member State they enter. Those wishing to apply elsewhere may be transferred back to their initial point of entry.
Disparities between Member States Justice and Home Affairs Council majority vote to
relocate 120,000 refugees from Greece and Italy to other EU countries according to proportional quotas: •
Malta not seen/marked on map
Number of asylum applications in 2023 Neither the readmission system under the
Dublin Regulation nor the temporary relocation mechanism based on
quotas proved effective in all EU Member States. The Dublin Regulation has led to a disproportionate number of asylum applications in border states such as
Greece,
Slovakia,
Poland, and
Malta. In 2008, the
UNHCR requested that the
European Union refrain from returning Iraqi asylum seekers to Greece due to concerns over reception conditions. Beginning in 2015, several European countries unilaterally closed their borders, detaining people at the EU's external and internal borders for additional screening of their migration intentions. These measures were criticised for undermining solidarity among
Schengen Area states and for violating the Dublin Regulation's procedures for examining applications for international protection. In the autumn of 2015, the Czech Republic, together with
Hungary,
Romania, and
Slovakia, voted against the mandatory admission of refugees allocated under relocation quotas. The Czech authorities later agreed to comply with EU requirements under pressure from other Member States. Although the Czech Republic was expected to accept around 2,000 asylum seekers, it ultimately admitted 12. A spokesperson for Czech President
Miloš Zeman stated: "Our country simply cannot afford to risk
terrorist attacks like those that occurred in France and Germany. By accepting migrants, we would create fertile ground for barbaric attacks". During the same period, Western Europe experienced several major terrorist attacks, including the
November 2015 Paris attacks (130 deaths), the July 2016
Nice truck attack (86 deaths), the June 2016
Atatürk Airport attack (45 deaths), and the March 2016
Brussels bombings (32 deaths). In contrast, the recorded terrorist threat level in Poland in 2015 was at "zero" on its national scale, which includes four levels plus a "zero level". According to 2017 statistics,
Malta and
Luxembourg admitted the highest number of migrants per capita among EU Member States, with an average of 41–46 migrants per 1,000 inhabitants. In contrast, the
Czech Republic,
Croatia,
Bulgaria, and
Slovakia admitted fewer than five migrants per 1,000 inhabitants. == History of migration in Europe ==