Migration researcher calls for a fundamental change in European asylum law

The sociologist and migration researcher Ruud Koopmans calls for a fundamental change in the European asylum system. According to the Australian model, this includes the consistent prevention of irregular migration, said the director of the "Migration, Integration, Transnationalization" department at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) of the "Tagesspiegel". Australia is one of the countries in the world that takes in the most refugees per capita.

"They generously bring refugees into the country, but only those who they have previously checked in third countries together with the UN refugee agency UNHCR for their need for protection and risk potential," said the author of the book "The Asylum Lottery", which was published in February: "The country also issues thousands of humanitarian visas annually. They help people differently than we do in Europe. At the same time, they refuse to allow refugees trying to reach the country irregularly by sea.”

The consistent prevention of irregular migration could also save lives in Europe if it abolishes the incentives for the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean, says the Dutch-born professor of sociology at Humboldt University. Corresponding third countries in which the asylum procedures are examined could be Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Albania or North Macedonia. The EU must bear the costs for the refugees and in return offer the countries quotas for regular migrant workers.