Research Papers

At the 1999 Tampere Council Summit the heads of the EU member states agreed to create common standards for refugees and persons in need of subsidiary protection by 2012. In 2004, as part of the Common European Asylum System, a first version of the Qualification Directive was adopted. In its effort to further approximate the rights of refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection, the Commission opened a recast process on the Qualification Directive in 2009. The resumed negotiations between the EU institutions have been followed actively by pro-migrant groups. Their intensified political involvement and presence in Brussels did not remain unnoticed by political scientists. However, rather than assessing the influence of pro-migrant groups on concrete policy instruments, previous studies are limited to the analysis of the factors that affect the emergence of such groups and the variety of their missions. This paper, in turn, firstly, identifies those pro-migrant groups active in lobbying on the recast Qualification Directive; secondly, explores their lobbying strategies; and thirdly, assesses their influence on the policy-making process. This analysis is based on a documentary comparison of the different positions of the EU institutions and the policy recommendations provided by the pro-migrant groups. In addition, in-depth expert interviews with EU officials and interest representatives have been conducted to complement the assessment of the influence of pro-migrant groups.