European Union refugee policy and law: A normative approach

The European has historically been the site of the genesis of international values and norms. The present-day European Union (EU), a conglomerate of affluent nations, is subject to considerable asylum claims due to the allure of its norms and values. Thesis focuses on the policies and legal frameworks of the EU in response to these claims, utilizing the normative theory of International Relations for evaluation purposes. The study tries to analyze the EU's refugee policy in the context of communitarianism and cosmopolitanism theories, drawing upon the philosophical underpinnings of consequentialism and deontology. Whether the EU, espousing a distinct cosmopolitan value in the form of EU citizenship, genuinely upholds this principle in its refugee policy. The research analyses the impact of the conflict between the communitarian approach, which centers on the core values of a community, and the individual-based cosmopolitan approach on policy. The EU refugee policy and legal regulations are based on cosmopolitan thinking; however, the thesis argues that cosmopolitan norms have been eroded, and communitarian norms have emphasized the EU's common asylum policy. However, the paradigm shift that occurred after 2020 has resulted in a notable shift towards the prominence of regulatory norms. In this respect, there has been an acceleration in the transition from principles to values in the context of EU refugee law. The values of freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights are directly related to the situation of refugees and, the EU refugee acquis is based on international law.