Subsidiary protection and family reunification in the European Law

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the interplay of subsidiary protection and family reunification rights in the EU legal context, exploring the normative gaps and practical inconsistencies for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. The analysis is presented in six chapters. It begins with a contextual introduction, followed by an in-depth discussion of the legal regime of subsidiary protection in Europe. The analysis then proceeds to critique the evolution of family reunification rights within EU law, focusing specifically on Directive 2003/86/EC and the Qualification Directive. The questions this dissertation addresses are whether this legal context provides access to family reunification for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection equal to that afforded to refugees. The analysis in Chapters 4 and 5 show that it does not provide equal access, since EU law provides weaker protections to holders of subsidiary protection and relies on members states' discretionary power in deciding family reunification procedures and criteria. Using case law and jurisprudence, this dissertation demonstrates how EU member states exercise that discretion in a way that prioritizes certain vulnerable families disproportionally, leading to considerable divergence in implementation across the Union.