Soft Law in EU Migration Cooperation with Associated Countries – A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The war in Syria transformed the temporary stay of refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon into a protracted situation. These countries represent strategic partners to the EU in the governance of transit migration. The EU adopted three non-binding bilateral arrangements: The Turkey Statement, the Jordan Compact and the Lebanon Compact. This thesis pursued the following research question: What are the legal effects of the Turkey Statement, the Jordan Compact and the Lebanon Compact on the relations between the EU and these three associated countries in terms of migration and how do they impact the situation of Syrian refugees hosted in these countries? The Compacts had facilitating and strengthening legal effects on the association links with the EU. In contrast, the Turkey Statement had transformative and multilevel legal effects that contributed to an informalization of relations. This study provided one approach to the lack of legal research on the external dimension of EU governance.