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To Activate or Not to Activate? The Role of the 2004 EU Enlargement in the Late Activation of the Temporary Protection Directive

Skjødt Nielsen, Maiken LU (2025) EUHR18 20251
European Studies
Abstract
The Temporary Protection Directive was created in 2001 to harmonise burden-sharing and encourage European solidarity within the Common European Asylum System during mass influxes of migrants. However, the directive remained inactive during the 2015 migrant crisis and was only invoked for the first time in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This study aims to compare and contrast the EU’s sociopolitical, historical, and cultural intentions behind the directive’s creation and first-time activation, taking into account the non-activation in 2015, during which intergovernmental solidarity was challenged by post-communist Member States who ascended to the EU in 2004, in particular the Visegrád Group. Using the concepts of... (More)
The Temporary Protection Directive was created in 2001 to harmonise burden-sharing and encourage European solidarity within the Common European Asylum System during mass influxes of migrants. However, the directive remained inactive during the 2015 migrant crisis and was only invoked for the first time in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This study aims to compare and contrast the EU’s sociopolitical, historical, and cultural intentions behind the directive’s creation and first-time activation, taking into account the non-activation in 2015, during which intergovernmental solidarity was challenged by post-communist Member States who ascended to the EU in 2004, in particular the Visegrád Group. Using the concepts of solidarity, national identity, and ethnic nationalism, it argues that the Group’s political discourse during the 2015 migrant crisis played a significant role in the directive’s non-activation, leading to a weakening of solidarity in the EU asylum system. Employing case study methodology, this analysis permits an exploration of the role of a future eastward enlargement and its potential impact on EU asylum policies, arguing that the rise of ethnic nationalism, democratic back-sliding, and Russian political interference, alongside the reversal of Europeanisation, remain ongoing challenges, making EU alignment imperative to strengthen future European solidarity. (Less)
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author
Skjødt Nielsen, Maiken LU
supervisor
organization
course
EUHR18 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
European solidarity, ethnic nationalism, Common European Asylum System, Temporary Protection Directive, 2004 post-communist enlargement, European Studies
language
English
id
9194312
date added to LUP
2025-06-10 14:44:25
date last changed
2025-06-10 14:44:25
@misc{9194312,
  abstract     = {{The Temporary Protection Directive was created in 2001 to harmonise burden-sharing and encourage European solidarity within the Common European Asylum System during mass influxes of migrants. However, the directive remained inactive during the 2015 migrant crisis and was only invoked for the first time in 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This study aims to compare and contrast the EU’s sociopolitical, historical, and cultural intentions behind the directive’s creation and first-time activation, taking into account the non-activation in 2015, during which intergovernmental solidarity was challenged by post-communist Member States who ascended to the EU in 2004, in particular the Visegrád Group. Using the concepts of solidarity, national identity, and ethnic nationalism, it argues that the Group’s political discourse during the 2015 migrant crisis played a significant role in the directive’s non-activation, leading to a weakening of solidarity in the EU asylum system. Employing case study methodology, this analysis permits an exploration of the role of a future eastward enlargement and its potential impact on EU asylum policies, arguing that the rise of ethnic nationalism, democratic back-sliding, and Russian political interference, alongside the reversal of Europeanisation, remain ongoing challenges, making EU alignment imperative to strengthen future European solidarity.}},
  author       = {{Skjødt Nielsen, Maiken}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{To Activate or Not to Activate? The Role of the 2004 EU Enlargement in the Late Activation of the Temporary Protection Directive}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}