Following the refugee relocation scheme: Ideological interpretations of interstate shared responsibility in Romania

Abstract

The number of irregular migrant entries within the European Union (EU) increased by 546% in 2015. Sea arrivals totaled 1,015,078 in 2015, 362,753 in 2016, and 172,301 in 2017. No policy has adequately addressed this humanitarian crisis, partially because of the deep ideological divisions within the EU regarding the implementation of the 2015 refugee relocation scheme. This paper uses interview data (n = 14) to explore how Romanian policymakers and elected representatives interpret the idea of interstate shared responsibility in relation to the EU’s relocation system for internally redistributing refugees and to examine what version of interstate solidarity is considered politically desirable. It starts from the premise that member states’ reluctance to adopting the relocation scheme was associated with contradictory ideological interpretations of the idea of shared responsibility, as well as dissimilar perceptions of what it means to fairly share accountability with respect to EU-wide migration matters.