Are Humanitarian or Economic Interests Decisive for EU Asylum and Migration Policies?

A lot has been said about humanitarianism and solidarity among member states since the so-called refugee crisis (e.g., Agustín & Jørgensen, 2019, Heimann et al. 2019, Wallaschek, 2018). This contribution shows that the concept of solidarity has become a political tool, which is increasingly used to pursue economic interests and societal issues far from humanitarian ideas. To this end, different activities of member states, regions and municipalities and their interest groups are analysed with regards to their engagement in EU migration and integration policies. In the tradition of Grounded Theory a Dimensional Analysis derived from document analysis and qualitative interviews includes expert interviews with representatives of member states, counties and municipalities as well as their political statements and reports. The analysis disentangles the multi-layered interests in the policy field of migration and integration in the European Union. Different member states, regions and municipalities are exemplified to offer insights in the political aims of asylum and immigration politics. The analysis indicates that solidarity with refugees and “refugee-friendly" policies are regularly linked to needs of the labour market or local infrastructure caused by economic deficits or demographic change.