Between 2011 and 2016 over four million people applied for asylum in the EU-28. In relation to the 508 million inhabitants of the Union this represents just 1% of the total population. Yet, it was named and framed a migrant crisis. The EU proved itself unable to handle it effectively. The influx of migrants in 2015 put the whole system under extreme pressure, with the secondary movements of migrants putting the Schengen system in jeopardy and consequently raising doubts about both the ability and willingness of Member States to meet (EU) obligations. The migrant crisis painfully highlighted the shortcomings of the Union, and even the plethora of additional measures employed does not seem to remedy the situation. This crisis is, however, not a migrant crisis, but a crisis of European asylum policy. The relatively small inflow of asylum seekers in comparison to the EU’s population raises questions about the suitability and applicability of the legislative measures of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). This study evaluates this policy to explain how and why the influx of asylum seekers into the Union became a crisis. The research question is answered through policy analysis and participant observation at refugee camp Alexandreia, Greece. The study found that the EU systematically uses a coercive policy in which exclusion, marginalisation and bureaucracy feature prominently. This policy is the product of the EU’s construction of the refugee label. The label is based on the belief that asylum seekers are individuals escaping persecution, and that they should therefore not care where they seek refuge. Ultimately, it is this characterisation that led to the undoing of the policy. Consequently, the migrant crisis resulted from the EU’s asylum acquis.