ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the response is consistent with the European Union’s (EU’s) current institutional structure, deliberately hesitant in its integration efforts. It shows that its response reflects the EU's current state of incomplete integration. The chapter discusses the slow and incomplete development of European Union asylum policy. It assesses the EU's response to the crisis and observes that the delays in its response were brought about by the absence of institutionalized authority as a result of incomplete integration. Since the regulation of national asylum policies was only partially established at the supranational level, member states were expected to manage the crisis independently, while adhering to the common framework that had been established by the EU. The chapter analyzes the consequences of the absence of central authority, illustrating how member states' individual responses to the crisis diverged sharply. It concludes with the implications of the refugee crisis for the future of the EU.
