CHANGES IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN THE FIELD OF SECURITY AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THE 2015 MIGRATION CRISIS

Abstract

This paper discusses the legal issues in the field of migration crisis that the European community has been dealing with in recent years. To understand the specifics of this issue, it should be realized that people from time immemorial have moved from place to place in order to improve their living conditions. Migrants are resettling to improve their lives, lacking security in a country that cannot or does not want to guarantee it. Reasons for migration can be as plentiful and varied as are migrants themselves. Refugees decide to escape their own country, risk their own and their families’ lives, yearning to break free from oppression that prevents them from observing their faith, following passions, or expressing their views. Emigrants decide to leave their homeland for economic reasons, to improve their financial situation, or achieve self-actualization. Their journeys split between those made in accordance with applicable national and international legal norms, such as ones dictated by the European Union, and those that are carried out against the law. It is important to remember that each immigrant represents a unique, often overly complex story, one of the myriad human dramas that we have faced since our civilization has begun.

To safeguard a set of basic human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948 was adopted by the United Nations, guaranteeing to all persons the right to unimpeded movement, choice of where to live within each country, and to their nationality. Compelled by social change, globalization, digital revolution and several migratory crises of recent years, the Global Compact for Migration of December 19, 2018 was developed by the UN, containing several principles designed to make migration safer. Poland has not yet acceded to the agreement. The migration crisis, also known as the refugee crisis, that has started in 2015, was recognized as the largest of its kind since the Second World War, overtaking the public discourse around the world. The European Union responded to it with a 10-point plan of immediate actions. It is estimated that as many as two million people immigrated to Europe during that time. At least 20,000 people lost their lives in transit via sea and land. In order to guarantee the security of the Union's borders and to significantly increase support for people in need of humanitarian assistance, a number of actions have been taken, such as creating plans to relocate asylum seekers that are already in Europe and to allow for the return of those who had not met asylum conditions. To date, the European Union has fundamentally increased the security of its borders, combats the smuggling of illegal immigrants and offers secure ways to enter its territory legally. The EU-Turkey agreement was crucial in helping to resolve this problem, by providing Greece the ability to send refugees who had not received asylum in a member state of the European Union to Turkey.