Dans l’Union Européenne, la Commission prépare une réforme de la législation applicable en matière d’immigration et d’asile, face à une montée continue du nombre des immigrés et de demandeurs d’asile. Les difficultés économiques, sociales et politiques que rencontrent un grand nombre d’Etats des continents africain, asiatique et même européen, maintiendront une demande forte d’entrée d’étrangers. Cette situation confrontera l’U.E à la recherche d’un difficile équilibre entre les intérêts nationaux et un certain devoir d’assistance. Ainsi, y’a-t-il une protection suffisante pour les étrangers dans le droit de l’U.E ? Ensuite, y a t-il, un statut général applicable à tous les étrangers ? Il est à noter que les droits des étrangers sont à la fois limités et variables. Limités lorsqu’on confronte le statut des étrangers et celui des citoyens européens ; variables dans la mesure où les étrangers ne se voient pas tous reconnaître les mêmes droits. Ainsi, on estime que l’Union devrait élaborer une politique de migration plus proactive axée sur la gestion et non sur la prévention des mouvements migratoires. Cette politique devrait se fonder sur un cadre définissant clairement les droits des étrangers. Elle devrait garantir aux travailleurs migrants un cadre juridique en matière d’égalité de traitement avec les nationaux. Un cadre commun devrait être élaboré pour les conditions d’entrée et de résidence, à partir d’un consensus entre les pouvoirs publics et les partenaires sociaux concernant les besoins du marché du travail. / In the European Union, the Commission prepares a reform of the legislation on immigration and asylum, vis-a-vis a steady rise in the number of immigrants and asylum seekers. The economic, social and political difficulties, that a large number of States in Africa, Asia and even Europe encounter, will maintain a strong request for entry from abroad. This situation will confront the E.U in search of a difficult balance between the national interests and a duty of care. Thus, is there a sufficient protection for the foreigners in the European Union Law ? Then, is there a general status applicable to all the foreigners ? It should be noted that the rights of foreigners are at the same time limited and variable. Limited when one confronts the status of foreign and that of the European citizens; and variables to the extent that foreigners are not given all the same rights. Thus, it is estimated that the Union should develop a more proactive migration policy based on the management and not on the prevention of the migratory movements. This policy should be based on a clear framework of the aliens ‘rights. It should guarantee to migrant workers a legal framework as regards equal treatment with the nationals. A common framework should be developed in the conditions of entry and residence, starting from a consensus between the public authorities and the social partners concerning the needs of the labor market.

In the European Union asylum and migration policy, the expressions “exclusion” and “externalization” are often used and encountered because the EU transfers the responsibility of migration control to non-EU states through readmission agreements. The EU does not have the capacity to receive all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers that seek protection in Europe, hence the agreements are constituted between the EU and other countries outside the EU on the basis of returning nationals and third country nationals who have been denied asylum. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how and to what extent are human rights embedded in the readmission agreements and in the materials that constitute the basis for the decision to enter into readmission agreements. This thesis also tends to analyze if and on what basis the readmission agreements pose potential consequences for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. In order to answer the posed research questions, I have used a qualitative research method of case study and text analysis. I have used a theoretical framework of externalization and studied the cases of the EU-Ukraine agreement and the EU-Pakistan agreement. Today, the EU cannot guarantee the safety individuals that are being returned to either Ukraine or Pakistan, because both Ukraine and Pakistan lack functional human rights institutions and cannot practice what human rights instruments ordain because they lack the capacity to do so. The EU’s failing of safe returns for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants has consequently created situations of orbit and chain refoulment where migrants, refugees and asylum seekers risks being returned to their country of origin or passed around between countries.

L’obiettivo principale di questa tesi è di analizzare l’origine ed evoluzione della dimensione esterna della politica migratoria dell’Unione Europea. Attraverso un framework teorico che coniuga la letteratura sui ‘new modes of governance’ con quella riguardante il ‘rational-choice institutionalism’, questa tesi si propone di analizzare il sistema di governance in tre settori politici che rientrano nell’ambito della dimensione esterna: politica di riammissione, controlli esterni alle frontiere, e cooperazione con Paesi terzi concernente la gestione della migrazione legale. Sulla base delle premesse teoriche sopra indicate, questa tesi avanza due conclusioni principali. In primo luogo, si sostiene che l’evoluzione del sistema di governance nei tre casi presi in considerazione, lungi dal seguire un percorso lineare verso una sempre maggiore comunitarizzazione, ha al contrario dato luogo a sistemi di governance ‘ibridi’, che combinano cioè elementi vincolanti tipici del metodo comunitario con elementi caratteristici dei “new modes of governance”, incentrati sull’uso di soft law. In secondo luogo, si evidenzia il ruolo centrale rivestito dagli Stati Membri nello sviluppare tali sistemi di governance in accordo con due obiettivi prioritari: limitare l’autonomia delle istituzioni sovranazionali all’interno del processo decisionale e plasmare i risultati di tali politiche in accordo con le preferenze degli stessi Stati Membri. / The central aim of this thesis is to provide an account of the origin and evolution of the external dimension of EU migration policy. By means of a theoretical framework that combines new modes of governance and rational-choice institutionalism, this thesis analyses the systems of governance of three policy areas falling within the external dimension: readmission policy, external border controls and cooperation with third countries in the field of legal migration. On the basis of such theoretical premises, two central arguments are advanced. First of all, it is argued that the evolution of the system of governance in the three cases, far from following a linear path towards communitarization, has resulted in the adoption of mixed systems featuring both 'old' modes of governance in line with the traditional Community Method and 'new’ modes based on soft-law and non-binding commitments. Secondly, this thesis underlines the central role played by the Member States in devising those governance mechanisms in order to fulfil two main objectives: limiting the discretion of EU supranational institutions in the decision-making process and shaping policy outcomes according to their preferred policy options.

Focusing on the readmission agreement between Sweden and Afghanistan, this study aims to enhance our understanding of why and how states use readmission agreements and the discourse underpinning these practices. Based on interviews with key officials working in the Swedish deportation infrastructure, the findings show that the agreement is presented as a successful measure resulting in a more predictable process and increased forced returns. The agreement is a critical technique for minimizing disruptions in the deportation corridor to Afghanistan, however, not without interruptions due to the infrastructure’s reliance on many elements and the complexity of bilateral cooperation. The discursive practices, including “problem” representations and assumptions justifying the agreement, can be questioned considering that most Afghans abscond or travel to another Schengen country instead of returning. The absence of an agreement evaluation further necessitates calling the increased governmental focus on readmission agreements into question. The study contributes to deconstructing governmental rationalities through a novel methodology of studying deportation and readmission.