A Kind of Analysis of Eurodac Data

Abstract

Eurodac aims to ensure the technical background of the European Union’s asylum system, i.e. the effective operation of the provisions of the Dublin Convention, which is used to compare the fingerprints not only of asylum-seekers but also of irregular migrants and illegal staying. The author analyses Eurodac’s statistical data regarding the border category from the wave of mass illegal migration (since the statistical data have been made public) to the post-Covid–19 period. Not only are the main trends presented, but also how the involvement of individual member states in asylum procedures and illegal migration changed in certain periods and how the role of migration routes changed in the light of the data. The purpose of the study is to assess the lessons learned so far and formulate recommendations for the future before the expected restructuring of Eurodac. Precisely for this purpose, the statistical data of Eurodac is compared and analysed with the related data of Eurostat and Frontex, as well
as with the relevant official statistics of some member states. The results of the investigations
and research reveal that certain categories of EU and member state statistics and their interpretation are often disharmonious and generate numerous anomalies. The study shows
that the planned development of Eurodac is only partially moving forward.