Influencing the fate of refugees. The 2016 Dutch Presidency of the Council on EU migration issues

Abstract

Due to the large influx of asylum seekers into Europe, migration became a central theme for the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU during the first half of 2016. This so-called refugee crisis forced the Netherlands to take action, resulting in the EU-Turkey statement in March 2016, among other things. In this thesis, the question is answered to what extent the Council Presidency of the Netherlands left its mark on the European approach to migration issues. By looking into the past and the present of the Netherlands as a pragmatic EU member and by speaking with officials who were involved in the Presidency, it is shown that the Dutch used the various roles of the Presidency to make their influence known. The favourable circumstances did help the Dutch Presidency to achieve several of its goals. However, the follow-up has not been as successful.