What is our motivation? 
  • The cluelessness of both Czech and European politicians in their tackling of the so-called refugee crisis
  • Strong statements undermining a genuine debate
  • Many ethical and practical challenges brought about by issues related to refugees and asylum.
 What is our goal? We want to give voice to novel and fresh ideas which had not been prominent in the debate thus far as well as to enable the development of present EU policies into a functional and sustainable system. What issues should the papers tackle?  What should the reformed European migration and asylum policy look like as of summer 2017? What policies will ensure the legal obligations of the EU member states and improve the efficiency of the right of asylum? How can the internal freedom of movement and a solidary redistribution of asylum applicants among the EU states be ensured? What financial and institutional means are required to meet the given goals? Should the migration and asylum policy be harmonized? Should some of its aspects be delegated towards European agencies? Which competences would be best performed by a common EU agency? Should it cover external border management, rescue aid in the Mediterranean, or also asylum procedures and redistribution of refugees? How should these programs be financed? What future developments should the common asylum and migration policy foresee? Should the EU strive to provide aid in the countries of the refugees’ origin? If so, how? What level and form of externalization in seeking solutions to the so-called refugee crisis is acceptable in terms of refugee rights and efficient from policy and security viewpoints? How should the Czech Republic participate in the EU migration and asylum policy? How can I take part? We address individuals and pairs of authors regardless of their age, field of study or employer. In the first place, you should formulate your ideas in a 2-page abstract and submit it Zora Hesová at zora.hesova@amo.cz. The text should contain the following:
  1. aims of your proposals
  2. principles they rely on
  3. institutions and processes which will need to be engaged
An expert commission will select four of the most thorough and innovative proposals. Their authors will then write a 10-15-page long policy paper, submission of which will be rewarded by 8 000 CZK. The authors will have the opportunity to present and defend their proposals in a moderated public discussion. The four selected policy papers will then be published. What should the proposals adhere to? We are interested in proposals which can be implemented in the present legal and institutional framework. It should be possible to adopt the submitted proposals on the EU level within the next year. All proposals in manifest violation of international law will be discarded. We will accept texts which have been previously in part or in full published as long as this fact is explicitly mentioned. What is the schedule? June, 23 2016       Deadline for submission of abstracts June, 30 2016       Selection of four proposals by the expert commission August, 15 2016    Deadline for submission of policy papers September 2016   Public presentation of the papers and a debate held in Prague