Constructing Fortress Europe: Third Country Nationals As Unwelcome Guests

Abstract

Ever since the introduction of the EU’s four freedoms, EU citizens have been promised the freedom to move freely within the confines of the EU. As the EU’s population expanded through enlargement, in conjunction with growing pressure on labor market, wages and employment, European public attitudes toward immigration seem to become more polarized. Thus, immigration, especially that of the admittance of non-EU thirdcountry nationals, may be rendered as a highly contested issue within Europe’s two-level systems. However, what is happening inside the EU, in terms of intra-EU immigration, is rarely considered within such contestation. This paper plans to address this issue by using a historical institutionalist approach in analyzing scholarly claims regarding the securitization of immigration vis-a-vis the development of EU immigration policies and approaches, as well as the role that citizenship plays on immigration. This way, a fuller understanding of Europe’s overall unfavorable attitude toward immigration could be achieved.