After the Gentle Monster. Is there a Future of the European Immigration and Asylum Policy?

Abstract A quarter of a century ago, in Tampere, European leaders reached a systemic compromise to develop a common immigration and asylum policy. Despite enormous divergences of interest among states, and in particular between the countries of northern and southern Europe, a model migration policy that can be described as a "gentle monster" was put in place. European states renewed their commitment to a very liberal regime for the protection of asylum seekers on European territory, but accompanied it with a very strong reinforcement of mechanisms to prevent potential asylum seekers from entering these territories. The "gentle monster" worked for a long time. But from 2015-16, this model began to crack more and more. These were reflected in growing tensions at both European and individual country level. Nevertheless, the last decade of European policy can be described as "more of the same". Above all, the dimension of control has taken precedence over that of welcome, and efforts have been made to make the monster less kind. The outcome, however, leaves much to be desired. Is this trend inevitable, or are there alternatives?