Nudging Forward in Italy and Greece: Legality, Legitimacy and Band-Aids Under the Asylum Pact and the Schengen Borders Code

This paper delves into the emergent phenomenon of ‘nudging forward’, a strategy adopted by Southern EU Member States to influence forced migrants to seek protection elsewhere, thereby encouraging secondary movements. Conceptualising nudging forward within the push-pull paradigm as a distinct sub-form of indirect deterrence, it highlights its manifestations, including Greece's delayed reception reforms and the recent externalisation of asylum processing to Albania. It assesses the legality and legitimacy of this strategy within the Schengen system and the CEAS, considering whether it is a legitimate response to normative disagreements and lack of EU solidarity towards the front-line countries. It also problematises nudging forward, questioning its compatibility with the goals of EU asylum and border governance. Finally, through legal analysis, the paper scrutinises the European Pact on Migration and Asylum as a potential solution, critically evaluating the effectiveness of its measures in addressing the challenges of ‘nudging forward’ and their solidarity-oriented nature.