"failing forward": freedom of movement reforms in the European Union during crises

Abstract

The article addresses the reforms of border security, migration and asylum policies in times of recent crises in the European Union. The author turns to the analysis of the refugee crisis and closing borders during pandemic in the framework of the «failing forward» approach, which combines the ideas of both liberal intergovernmentalism and neofunctionalism. Describing the process of reforming the Schengen Border Code and the Dublin Regulation, the article demonstrates how the Commission’s ambitious initiatives to promote communitarian method of governance were reduced in the Council to a minimum common denominator. These decisions contributed to the temporary settlement of migration and border security problems, which were aggravated by crisis. They promoted the process of European integration to a certain extent, but did not guarantee from future events of force majeure. The cases of refugee crisis and pandemic allow to prove the author’s argument that a new Schengen reform was required to legitimize restrictions of citizens' trips. Concentrating on the analysis of this new reform, the author comes to conclusion that the EU's choice of an intergovernmental way of Schengen governance does not ensure success in case of a new crisis. Thereby the logic of “failing forward” will be reproduced with a high probability.