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Externalised Migration Control and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Examining the Scope of Article 51 (1) of the Charter

Björklund, Kajsa-Lotta LU (2025) JURM02 20252
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
The EU and its Member States increasingly rely on migration cooperation with non-EU countries to manage migration flows to Europe. This involves implementing immigration policies beyond EU borders, a practice often referred to as externalisation. As part of this practice, the EU and its Member States conclude strategic partnerships with countries of origin and transit and provide financial and operational support for the migration measures. As migration control is moved to third countries, with the EU and Member States often indirectly involved, responsibility for the protection of fundamental rights is shifted, which raises questions concerning the applicability of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The aim of this thesis is to analyse... (More)
The EU and its Member States increasingly rely on migration cooperation with non-EU countries to manage migration flows to Europe. This involves implementing immigration policies beyond EU borders, a practice often referred to as externalisation. As part of this practice, the EU and its Member States conclude strategic partnerships with countries of origin and transit and provide financial and operational support for the migration measures. As migration control is moved to third countries, with the EU and Member States often indirectly involved, responsibility for the protection of fundamental rights is shifted, which raises questions concerning the applicability of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the scope of application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to external migration measures involving the EU and Member States. Using the doctrinal legal research method, it is examined under what conditions such measures fall within the scope of article 51(1) of the Charter. As the EU and its Member States continue to explore new forms of migration cooperation with third countries, the contribution of this thesis is to examine the application of the Charter in relation to recent cooperation arrangements. The analysis shows that the Charter may apply regardless of territorial considerations or the informal or formal nature of the cooperation instrument. The study shows that the determining factor is whether the conduct in question involves the exercise of EU competence or a Member State acting within the scope of EU law. The findings are highlighted using three case studies on external migration cooperation: The EU-Tunisia MoU on a strategic partnership, the EU-Italy cooperation with Libya on border management, and the bilateral cooperation between Italy and Albania on extraterritorial asylum processing centres. The thesis concludes that while article 51(1) provides that the Charter may extend to external migration measures, this ultimately depends on who the measure can be attributed to and whether it constitutes an exercise of an EU competence or a Member State acting within the scope of EU law. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
EU och dess medlemsstater samarbetar i allt högre utsträckning med tredjeländer för att kontrollera migrationen till Europa. Migrationspolitiska åtgärder genomförs utanför Europas territorium i syfte att begränsa migrationsströmmarna till Europa, något som ofta benämns som externalisering (eng: externalisation). Strategiska samarbeten sluts med ursprungs- och transitländer, där EU och medlemsstater ofta bidrar med finansiellt och operativt stöd till migrationsrelaterade åtgärder. När migrationsåtgärder implementeras utanför EU:s gränser och dess medlemsstater är indirekt involverade, flyttas ansvaret för skyddet för grundläggande rättigheter bort från EU och dess medlemsstater, vilket väcker frågor om EU-stadgans tillämpningsområde. Syftet... (More)
EU och dess medlemsstater samarbetar i allt högre utsträckning med tredjeländer för att kontrollera migrationen till Europa. Migrationspolitiska åtgärder genomförs utanför Europas territorium i syfte att begränsa migrationsströmmarna till Europa, något som ofta benämns som externalisering (eng: externalisation). Strategiska samarbeten sluts med ursprungs- och transitländer, där EU och medlemsstater ofta bidrar med finansiellt och operativt stöd till migrationsrelaterade åtgärder. När migrationsåtgärder implementeras utanför EU:s gränser och dess medlemsstater är indirekt involverade, flyttas ansvaret för skyddet för grundläggande rättigheter bort från EU och dess medlemsstater, vilket väcker frågor om EU-stadgans tillämpningsområde. Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera EU-stadgans tillämpningsområde i förhållande till externa migrationsåtgärder som involverar EU och dess medlemsstater. Med hjälp av den rättsdogmatiska metoden undersöks under vilka förutsättningar externa migrationsåtgärder omfattas av artikel 51(1) i EU-stadgan. Uppsatsens bidrag till forskningen är att belysa stadgans tillämpningsområde i relation till aktuella migrationssamarbeten med tredjeländer. Analysen visar att stadgan kan tillämpas oberoende av på vilket territorium åtgärden vidtas och oavsett om samarbetet bygger på ett formellt eller informellt instrument. Avgörande är om åtgärden innefattar ett utövande av EU:s behörigheter eller om en medlemsstat agerar inom unionsrätten tillämpningsområde. Slutsatserna exemplifieras genom användningen tre fallstudier: Samförståndsavtalet (Eng: MoU) mellan EU och Tunisien, EU:s och Italiens samarbete med Libyen om gränsförvaltning samt det bilaterala samarbetet mellan Italien och Albanien om extraterritoriella asylprövningscentrum. I slutsatsen konstateras det att även om artikel 51(1) medför att stadgan kan tillämpas på externa migrationsåtgärder, beror det i slutändan på vem som kan tillskrivas ansvar för åtgärden och om åtgärden kan hänföras till en EU-behörighet eller en medlemsstat som agerar inom ramen för unionsrättens tillämpningsområde. (Less)
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author
Björklund, Kajsa-Lotta LU
supervisor
organization
course
JURM02 20252
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
EU law, Externalisation, EU Charter of Fundamental rights, Migration.
language
English
id
9217174
date added to LUP
2026-01-21 10:51:43
date last changed
2026-01-21 10:51:43
@misc{9217174,
  abstract     = {{The EU and its Member States increasingly rely on migration cooperation with non-EU countries to manage migration flows to Europe. This involves implementing immigration policies beyond EU borders, a practice often referred to as externalisation. As part of this practice, the EU and its Member States conclude strategic partnerships with countries of origin and transit and provide financial and operational support for the migration measures. As migration control is moved to third countries, with the EU and Member States often indirectly involved, responsibility for the protection of fundamental rights is shifted, which raises questions concerning the applicability of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the scope of application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights to external migration measures involving the EU and Member States. Using the doctrinal legal research method, it is examined under what conditions such measures fall within the scope of article 51(1) of the Charter. As the EU and its Member States continue to explore new forms of migration cooperation with third countries, the contribution of this thesis is to examine the application of the Charter in relation to recent cooperation arrangements. The analysis shows that the Charter may apply regardless of territorial considerations or the informal or formal nature of the cooperation instrument. The study shows that the determining factor is whether the conduct in question involves the exercise of EU competence or a Member State acting within the scope of EU law. The findings are highlighted using three case studies on external migration cooperation: The EU-Tunisia MoU on a strategic partnership, the EU-Italy cooperation with Libya on border management, and the bilateral cooperation between Italy and Albania on extraterritorial asylum processing centres. The thesis concludes that while article 51(1) provides that the Charter may extend to external migration measures, this ultimately depends on who the measure can be attributed to and whether it constitutes an exercise of an EU competence or a Member State acting within the scope of EU law.}},
  author       = {{Björklund, Kajsa-Lotta}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Externalised Migration Control and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Examining the Scope of Article 51 (1) of the Charter}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}