Suchergebnisse

This article examines the development of the legislation on asylum law and refugee policies in Portugal. The assessment begins in 1975, the year when democracy was re-established in the country, following the 1974 Carnation Revolution, and ends in 2015, the year the European asylum crisis started. We want to discuss whether, during this period, the policies established indicate an open regime, with an inte- grationist perspective, or whether they proclaim a closed regime with an exclusivist position; in other words, whether the asylum system promoted an active policy of receiving and integrating refugees, or whether the policies pursued intended to limit the access of refugees to the borders of the state. In order to understand these developments, we ana- lyze asylum application figures and asylum laws, trying to understand the main circumstantial contexts that influence them, namely Portugal's integration in the European Union. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Historically-speaking, Portugal is a country that has received a very small number of applications from asylum seekers and resettled refugees. However, within the context of the current influx of refugees into Europe and the creation of a relocation system within the European Union, Portugal is ready to take 10,000 relocated refugees. As such, it is legitimate to ask whether we are witnessing a change in the country's policy regarding asylum and refugees. Although this is an ongoing process, the conviction prompting this humanitarian position regarding the taking of relocated refugees also includes a convenient political strategy that serves the national interest in two ways: by promoting the image of a supportive country in the current European refugee crisis, despite its internal socio-economic crisis, as well as a way of obtaining human resources to boost economic activity and combat the country's demographic deficit. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

While some E.U. members have erected fences, Portugal has made a stand for solidarity on refugees. It's been driven by political as well as economic strategy. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The evolution of European policy in recent years has shown how policy can be used to actively restrict the movement of people and as a mechanism for choosing what kind of refugee a particular country receives, with the interests of states prevailing over humanitarian needs. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion