Do supranational EU institutions make a difference? EU asylum law before and after 'communitarization'.

Area of Science:

• Political Science
• European Union Studies
• International Law

Background:

• The European Union's (EU) supranational institutions gained power over time.
• The development of EU asylum law is a complex process influenced by member states and EU bodies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of supranational institutional empowerment on EU asylum law development.
• To assess continuity and change in EU asylum law before and after 'communitarization'.

Main Methods:

• Systematic investigation of EU asylum law.
• Comparative analysis of legal frameworks before and after 'communitarization'.
• Examination of the role of advocacy coalitions and institutional dynamics.

Main Results:

• The 'policy core' of EU asylum law shows high continuity.
• An advocacy coalition led by interior ministers co-opted the European Commission and European Parliament.
• Empowered EU institutions accepted and institutionalized a restrictive and weakly integrated asylum law core.

Conclusions:

• Empowerment of supranational institutions did not fundamentally alter the core of EU asylum law.
• Negotiation dynamics, political expediency, and new institutional norms favored continuity.
• The Council's initial restrictive stance on EU asylum was maintained through institutional co-option.