The Swedish Migration Board and the Implementation of Asylum Directives

Abstract: This thesis studies the implementation of the Asylum procedure directive (2005/85/EC) and the Asylum Qualification Directive (2004/83/EC). The implementation is based on the officials examining asylum applications at the Migration Board in Malmö. Ten officials examining asylum applications have been interviewed. The aim is to see if there are any implementation problems regarding these two directives. This will in turn have an effect on the Europeanization of asylum policy. Implementation theory is used to study factors that have an effect on implementation and the theory of street- level bureaucrats is also used to study their discretion. The result is that the Asylum Qualification Directive had a larger impact on the asylum examinations than the Asylum Procedures Directive. Different forms of status categories are now granted together with residence permit. The implementation of this directive has therefore a positive impact on the Europeanization of the asylum policy in Sweden.   Key words: Implementation, Common European asylum system, EU- directives, Migration Board