Resisting Distalization? Malta and Cyprus' influence on EU Migration and Asylum Policies

Abstract

This article examines the role that Malta and the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) have played within the European Union in developing regional responses to irregular migration since 2004. It briefly compares their responses to those of other, larger southern Member States and traces the instances where Malta and the RoC have attempted to influence European migration and asylum policies, with varying degrees of success. It looks particularly at attempts by the two States to affect distalization processes, that is, policies that displace responsibility for migration and asylum away from the core of Europe towards its peripheries. In doing so, it questions the assumption that this is largely a one-way process, directed from large, powerful States at Europe’s core towards weaker Member States on the periphery. The article argues that, paradoxically, the processes of placing responsibility for migration and asylum on peripheral Member States have given Malta and the RoC more political clout in order to pursue their interests within the European Union.