This policy paper is based on the findings of the H2020 project CONDISOBS, which was conducted by Lorenzo Vianelli at the University of Luxembourg, thanks to funding received from the European Union���s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk��odowska-Curie grant agreement No 838722. CONDISOBS explored the governance of the mobility of asylum seekers in the European Union through a multi-sited qualitative study based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with state officials, representatives of international organisations and non-governmental organisations, lawyers, members of advocacy groups, social workers and activists. Interview material was integrated by an extensive review of academic literature, policy documents and institutional and non-governmental reports. Data was collected between October 2020 and June 2021. This policy paper is part of a series on the hotspot approach, which also includes a policy paper on the features of this mechanism in a broad sense and one on its implementation in Italy. All policy papers, as well as other research outputs, are freely accessible on the project website.