According to the principle of subsidiarity, the European Union should only act if it is better placed than member states to achieve a specific objective. Does this hold true for migration and asylum? Thirty years after the establishment of a common migration policy, can one genuinely assert that the EU is better positioned to control borders, return illegal migrants, conclude readmission agreements, or manage asylum policy?
These questions are, unfortunately, rhetorical. As the last three decades have shown, the EU’s migration and asylum policy is an abysmal and absolute failure. EU policy has failed so spectacularly that the migration crisis, along with its security implications, financial burdens, and cultural impact, has become the most pressing European political issue and has developed into an existential threat for Europe. After thirty years of failure, the only solution is for the EU to give back its competences to member states.
