European Union Migration Policy Research Articles

Evaluating the Securitized Migration Policy of the European Union in the Context of Border Security

The securitization theory, formulated by the Copenhagen School, has become one of the most widely used approaches to explain the relationship between migration and security. This study focuses on the reflections of the European Union’s (EU) securitized migration policy on the influence of border policies within the framework of securitization theory. In other words, the securitization of migration in the EU has been examined in terms of rising walls and technological developments at the borders of the member states. During the surge in migration flows to the EU, the evolution of border security in countries has been scrutinized. As a result of research, similar practices in border security have been identified in member states. In this study, firstly, it has been revealed that the EU has laid the groundwork for the development of security-focused policies in border security by providing financial and technical assistance, as well as offering training and equipment support to member states. Secondly, the study emphasizes the EU’s ability to devise border security strategies that are both productive and enduring. Furthermore, it raises critical questions about the implementation of extraordinary measures under the guise of security and the consequences of securitization on border policies.

Migration Management in the Western Balkan Region: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Introduction. For centuries, the Western Balkan region has been actively involved in international migration processes, mainly generating flows of migrants to other states. The European migration crisis has led to the region has become one of the main hub of transit migration from Asia and Africa to the European Union states. The European Union – a global center of gravity for migrants implement an active migration management policy in the region. The purpose of the article is to identify the impact of European Union policy towards the Western Balkans on the development of the migration crisis in the region as a whole and in Bosnia and Herzegovina in particular. Materials and Methods. The study is based on statistical materials on migration of international and regional organizations. The analysis of the features of political regulation of migration in the region is carried out on systematic approach and content analysis of numerous declarations and treaties, as well as published scientific research. Results. The study revealed that the externalization and securitization of migration policy carried out by the European Union leads to an aggravation of the crisis in the Western Balkans, which are actually turning into a buffer zone for deterring and filtering migrants. The strengthening of migration and border control in the region has led to the diversification of migration flows; as a result Bosnia and Herzegovina has become one of the main centers of transit migration. Discussion and Conclusion. Bosnia and Herzegovina, following the course of joining the European Union, systematically takes all imposed decisions in the field of migration management. However, these deals lead to an increase in migration pressure on the country that it is not prepared due to its internal political and economic problems. Contradictions between the central and regional authorities of the country in fundamental issues of migration policy reinforce the tendencies towards its disintegration. Data on the scale of migration in the region, its analysis and conclusions on the principles of European Union migration policy will be useful to researchers in the field of migration processes, and can be used by government agencies for developing a Russian strategy for managing immigration processes.

European Union migration policy: Current problems and prospects for analysis

The aim of this study was to examine the migration policy of the European Union EU and to identify its strengths and problems requiring improvement. In order to achieve the objectives, set, international standards, EU legislation, the analysis of EU statistical data and the study of scientific opinions on the problem have been analyzed. It is concluded that the main areas of EU migration policy are the following: the principle of human rights and freedoms; political equality and mutual assistance of the member states of the union; border protection and prevention of illegal migration; integration and inclusion of migrants in the social phenomena of the receiving country; management of migration processes and migration management; negotiation and cooperation policies with third countries; ensuring “circular migration”; active participation of the labor force, particularly highly skilled workers; active participation of migrants in the labor market and of their families, which is a key factor for the success of migration.

The crisis of the Common European Asylum System: rethinking solidarity in light of Human Rights

In 2015, the unprecedented arrival of refugees and irregular migrants in the European Union (EU) put a strain on the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), thus exposing a number of deficiencies in EU external border, asylum and migration policy. The need to reform the system became urgent and the EU was presented with both a challenge and an opportunity to further advance towards a much-needed consensual and long-term solution for the harmonisation of the asylum system, standing on the basis of solidarity and responsibility-sharing. This paper argues that the new comprehensive approach to migration and asylum praised by the European Commission (EC) is still missing in the recent Pact on Migration and Asylum of 2020, which represents more a missed opportunity than the real reform that the CEAS needs. The chosen legislative path, the dualistic understanding concerning the approach to migrants, and the new solidarity mechanism envisioned in the Pact show how the lack of consensus among Member States, the tendency towards the creation of a “Fortress Europe”, and an asymmetric idea of inter-state solidarity prevail, preventing the development of a common European framework for migration management that is both effective and in line with the EU’s values and objectives. This paper further argues that, if the EU fails to shift the paradigm of solidarity, the system is at risk of remaining fractured and incapable of withstanding the future challenges of migration. A new framework must be grounded on the principle of solidarity, as defined in the Article 80 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which, in turn, needs to move from a state-centred approach to a concept of solidarity based on affected individuals, thus setting its foundations on a human rights basis. The EU needs, in fact, to strongly step up as a humanitarian actor and place protection and responsibility-sharing at the centre of its agenda: the protection of fundamental human rights in its territory and beyond is at stake.

The European Union’s Migration and Asylum Policy: Perspectives of African migrants in Europe

The purpose of this study was to investigate the European Union (EU) Migration and Asylum Policy, a perspective of African migrants in Europe. Attempts were made to identify the perception of Africans in the EU on its migration and Asylum policy and assess whether the policy encourages migration and Asylum in the EU. To achieve this, descriptive survey was employed and questionnaires were administered to 100 respondents in Europe from different African countries. The data collected using the online questionnaires were analyzed using percentage, mean and standard deviations. From the results, it was concluded that immigration into the EU is undertaken by male citizens of most African countries especially at their youthful ages driven by the need to pursue education and job opportunities. Their stay in the EU breeds the desire (positive perception and desire) to obtain either work status or EU nationality. Many of them desire to be integrated into the host countries rather than repatriated to their countries. Finally, most of them greatly esteem the EU migration and asylum policy and prefer to stay within the EU than be resettled or repatriated, according to the new EU Pact policy.

Article: When Securitization Spills over Across EU Borders: A Quantitative Mapping of the External Dimension of EU Migration and Asylum Policies

This article provides new empirical insights on the external dimension (ED) of European Union (EU) migration and asylum policies (MAPs) as a case of securitization, by mapping its policy tools across time and space. More specifically, the goal of the article is two-fold. It engages into a new mapping exercise that enables an understanding of how ‘geographically spread’ the ED of EU policies on migration and asylum is, as well as providing insights into ‘where’ and ‘what’ the EU has externalized in the last twenty years. Second, it assesses to what extent the number, type and distribution of ED policy tools reflect dynamics of the securitization of migration and asylum. The article builds upon the literature on securitization and externalization, looking at it afresh by adopting a perspective focused on policy tools. Empirically, the analysis is based upon a new comprehensive database containing data on 153 ED tools according to their characteristics and regions. The article argues not only that policy tools characterize the ED as a further feature of the securitization of migration, but also that externalization through practices of securitization has not been limited to the EU immediate borderlands but has rather spilled over across regions and frontiers. Externalization; migration policies; securitization; policy tools; border control; return and readmission; asylum

The main changes in the European Union migration policy regarding the integration of migrants. a view from the Republic of Moldova

In recent years, the European Union has been deeply concerned about finding ways to improve the effectiveness of migration policy. The main task facing the EU is to bring migration policy to a new level, able to respond in a timely manner to both existing problems and threats, as well as new aggravating modern challenges in this area. At the same time, the traditional approach remains strengthening the protection of the EU’s external borders, developing optimal solutions for migration and asylum policy, as well as for the integration of migrants. This article refers to the integration of labor migrants in the countries of the European Union. The integration process of Moldovan immigrants in the EU is considered in the context of eight main groups of parameters, such as labor market mobility, family reunification, access to education, access to the health system, political participation, permanent residence, access to citizenship, combating discrimination. At the same time, international regulatory and legal documents developed in this field, statistical data, sociological research materials are widely used.

The New Priorities of the European Union Migration Policy

The aim of the research is to critically comment the New Pact on Migration and Asylum of the European Union, which introduces a new principle of flexible solidarity, consisting of two opposite characteristics – on the one hand – mandatory solidarity and on the other – a flexible one. Member States’ quotas will be replaced by flexible contribution to various aspects of the migration policy, which will allow countries that refuse to accept migrants to support the so-called first-line countries. The result of the research is a generalization and analysis of the new Migration Pact, which covers all areas of migration issues and applies a single approach and harmonizing of existing European legislation in the field. Other part of the results of the research analyse the new Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union which foresees an increase in the migration and border management spending up to 22.7 bln. euro and an increase in the field of security and defence spending up to 13.2 bln. Euro.

Central European Ideas and Policies about International Circular Migration from Hungarian Angle

Abstract The author tries to investigate the thoughts and politics in literature about international circular migration in the lights of European Union (EU) initiatives related to Visegrad Four Countries (V4) with special attention to Hungary. The cross-border circular flows have become relatively frequent during life stages of people differentiated by previous migratory experiences, and next aspirations. The popularity of international circular migration erected from the hypothesis of ’triple win solution’ without any empirical verifications. Basically, two sorts of circular migration system exist: homogenous and heterogenous. The homogenous human circular migration system consists of the same kind of moves with similar time rhythm from statistical angles. It seems to us that the practice of life-long international circular migration characterises few long-term circulators. However, the heterogenous circular migration systems combine with other spatial mobility forms function during whole individual life cycle due to one of the symptoms of human beings. The main aim of the contribution is to explore some elements of similar ideas and politics on international circulatory flows interfered between Western and Eastern Europe. Moreover, we propose some old-new innovative solutions for V4 to reform the rigid EU migration policies.

‘Losing Leverage’ in the Neighbourhood: A Cognitive Frame Analysis of the European Union Migration Policy

The European Union (EU)–Turkey deal consolidated a shift in the EU’s migration policy. The deal is the culmination of the dominance of the security frame and depicts the continuous externalization of the EU’s responsibility of asylum protection and burden sharing. The strengthening of the security frame has weakened the humanitarian norms that previously dictated EU’s behaviour. This has led to the EU losing some of its comparative advantages in negotiations. Simultaneously, the instrumentalization of the value of asylum, paired with an increased number of asylum seekers, has given negotiation leverage to the neighbouring countries turned service providers. These changes in perception and norms have created a power shift, at the disadvantage of the EU, creating a more leveled playing field for negotiations between the parties. This article tracks the historical shifts in the global refugee regime to explain how today’s situation was created. Hereby, the existence of two competing cognitive frames—humanitarian and security—is assumed, tracked and analysed. While looking at the EU–Turkey deal, the article shows that the EU has started treating refugees as a security problem rather than a humanitarian issue, breaking the normative fabric of the refugee regime in the process. The article also displays how Turkey was able to capitalise on this new reality and engage with negotiations of other neighbouring countries of EU that point towards a change of dynamics in the global refugee regime.

The Influence of the Migration Crisis of 2015 on the EU Migration Policy

Nowadays the European Union migration policy towards is one of the most important aspects in ensuring internal security of the EU. At the end of the XXth – beginning of the XXI century, Europe faced a new phenomenon – the intensifi cation of migration processes, namely the influx of refugees and migrants-asylum seekers from third countries. Therefore, it led to the creation and development of common migration policy of the European Union. In this regard, it was important to create legislation that could regulate such issues as border security and combating illegal migration, as well as to create a common asylum system. The need to study the legal framework on which the EU policy on migrants and refugees is based, and to study the current state and trends in the migration policy of the member-states of the EU has determined the relevance of this study. The importance of this topic is intensified by the European migration crisis of 2015, which is even described as a humanitarian catastrophe caused by a massive influx of refugees from Africa and the Middle East. It showed the main problems in the sphere of migration policy and policy towards refugees: imperfection of the system of delimitation of the EU competencies; a large number of countries with confl icting interests in various spheres; fragmentation of programs in force at the national level. To address the migration crisis, the EU used a multifaceted strategy: improving and creating new migration management institutions, expanding crossregional dialogue with the countries of the Mediterranean region, Africa and the Middle East; continued to reformat the Mediterranean region (region-building). Potential approaches range from an internal search for strategies in which each member state seeks to defend its own interests (sometimes even against European integration processes) to a more farsighted approach in which member states work together to address a wide range of migration issues.

Соціально-економічні аспекти міграційної політики Європейського Союзу

This article "Socio-economic Aspects of European Union Migration Policy" is devoted to exploring the features, prerequisites and socio-economic factors that encourage developed EU countries to implement measures to attract third-country migrants. For this purpose, a brief overview of the geography of migration processes that took place in Europe from the time of the formation of the European Union to the time of its full functioning was carried out. Following the final formation of the Union in 1992, basic legal acts were adopted that outlined the general rules and procedures for migration, but each country resolves the main issues related to the economic aspects of migration. In 2015, one of the most important issues that will affect the future development of the EU was raised, namely the demographic crisis that affected almost all countries, and the importance of which began to be discussed at a high political level. Through numerous studies of the population and labor markets, it has emerged that the rate of natural increase of population in Europe is extremely low, and because of the increase in life expectancy of Europeans, the retirement age may exceed the economically active population in the near future, which will put a heavy strain on the pension, tax and social systems. The largest recipients of migrant workers in the EU Poland and Germany have long been aware of the need to respond to the growing demographic crisis and implement appropriate policies. Poland has undertaken a range of measures to minimize bureaucratic and permitting procedures for the employment of foreigners, and has introduced numerous economic incentives and benefits for migrants studying and working in Poland. As a result, millions of migrants support the Polish economy and the competitiveness of Polish businesses in European markets, and the contribution of migrants to GDP growth is highlighted by the country's leading economic institutions. Germany is pursuing a slightly different policy, but the adoption of the new migration law has proved that the country is already suffering from a shortage of manpower. Major forecasts from leading scientific institutions in the labor market indicate that Germany needs 200-400 thousand migrants annually to support economic growth. Although the analysis of the law shows that only skilled workers can obtain a work permit, but the situation may change in the near future, as the policy is prudent and gradually giving access to markets. General scientific methods were used in the article: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, statistical analysis.

Migracionnaya politika Evropejskogo soyuza

Migracionnaya politika Evropejskogo soyuza

Understanding EU Solidarity and Migration in Crisis: Narratives of Health as Tools of Governance

The so-called European migration crisis has sparked significant attention from scholars and raises questions about the role of solidarity between states and the European Union (EU) in providing policy solutions. Tension exists between upholding the rights of those seeking entry and pooling resources between Member States to provide a fair and efficient migration system. This article deconstructs the shifts that have occurred in EU migration policy since 2015 to highlight how narratives of health have become tools of governance. It does so to illuminate how health narratives operate to minimise the impact that conflicts on the nature and substance of EU solidarity have on policy development in response to the perceived crisis. A governmentality lens is used to analyse the implications of increasingly prescribed policy applications based on screening and categorising, and how measures operate to responsibilise migrants and third-countries to act according to EU values. It is argued this approach to governance results in migrants facing legal uncertainty in terms of accessing their rights and excludes them from the EU political space, which is problematic for how EU governance can be understood.

International Delegation and Agency in the Externalization Process of EU Migration and Asylum Policy: the Role of the IOM and the UNHCR in Niger

Abstract This article examines the role of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the implementation of the European Union (EU) migration and asylum policy in Niger. Building on policy analysis and qualitative interviews with stakeholders, it contributes to the literature on the externalization process of EU borders. The first part of the article focuses on the international and local context in which this process has taken place in Niger since 2015. The second part refers to the principal-agent (PA) theory inspired from economics to model the dynamics of the delegation relationships linking the European Commission (EC) to the IOM and the UNHCR in Niger. It is argued that the two main objectives pursued by the EU through the externalization of its migration and asylum policy—namely the offshoring of border control and the outsourcing of asylum claims processing—are respectively fulfilled by the IOM and the UNHCR in Niger. As such, this article highlights how the cooperation of International Organizations (IOs) is critical to enable the EU to filter and restrict human mobility from the Sahel region.

Multilevel blame games: Blame‐shifting in the European Union

AbstractWho blames whom in multilevel blame games? Existing research focuses either on policymakers' preferences or their opportunities offered by the institutional structures in which policymakers operate. As these two strands of literature barely refer to each other, in this article we develop an integrated theoretical model of blame‐shifting in multilevel governance systems and assess it empirically. In line with the first strand, we assume that policymakers have a preference for shifting blame onto actors on a different level from themselves. In line with the second, we suppose that opportunities for doing so depend on institutional responsibility for policymaking and policy implementation. We check the plausibility of our integrated model by examining policymakers' blame attributions in three cases where European Union migration policies have been contested: border control, asylum, and welfare entitlements. We find that our integrated model does better in explaining blame‐shifting in these cases than the isolated models.

Securitization, migration-related conditionality in the European Union Official Development Assistance

In this article, it is explained the consequences of migration-related conditionality for the EU development policy which appears after a process of securitization of migration. In this way, it contributes to a better understanding of the security-migration-development nexus in the European Union (EU). For this, two key documents are critically reviewed to understand the external axis of the EU migration policy, such as the European Agenda on Migration and the Partnership Framework with third countries. In the study it is concluded that migration-related conditionality redirects development policy to objectives which are alien to it. In addition, these imposed objectives are in contradiction with some of the most important consensus of the global development agenda.

МІГРАЦІЙНА ПОЛІТИКА ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОГО СОЮЗУ ЩОДО КРАЇН ПІВНІЧНОЇ АФРИКИ

The article is devoted to the actual issues of the European Union migration policy with regard to the countries of North Africa. Indeed, the intensive migration movement that has recently taken place in Europe has forced the EU to develop a new, adequate migration policy that would be able to effectively address the problems encountered in this area. The reasons and the current state of migration processes are investigated. The main directions and areas of regulation of migration processes in the European Union concerning the countries of North Africa are highlighted. In particular, attention is drawn to such an important direction of the EU migration policy as the fight against illegal migration. The main problems of regulation of migration processes, in particular, labor migrants and refugees, are outlined. The substantial quantitative and qualitative changes that have taken place in the migration processes from the countries of North Africa to Europe have been analyzed. The general economic consequences of migration from the countries of North Africa for donor countries and recipient countries are described. Attention is drawn to the issue of professional training of Africans for further employment in the EU. It is concluded that migration in the EU countries plays a special role due to the aging of the population in European countries and the need to attract labor from third countries. Migration flows between the countries of North Africa and the EU are particularly intense. This is due to the geographical proximity of these regions, as well as close economic, political and cultural ties. Among the priority areas of the EU migration policy, such as border management and the return of illegal migrants to their homeland, convergence of Member States practice in strengthening the common European regime, sharing responsibilities and ensuring the acceptance of refugees with their further resettlement among EU member states.

The EU's Proxy War on Refugees

For decades, European Union (EU) member states have fought an illegal proxy war – a form of state crime – against refugees and migrants, far beyond EU external borders. Fatalities make this proxy war equivalent to international classifications of war. To justify this war, migrants have progressively been reclassified by the EU as “illegal” or criminal. This article situates the proxy war within wider deterrence-based EU migration policies. Examples like the 2008–2009 Italy–Libya deal and 2016 EU–Turkey deal show the high price paid by refugees, minorities and the damage to the EU's own stability and reputation. Forcibly confining people at “holding points” along migratory routes, expelling people to unsafe countries and raising barriers to legal movement, the violence of the proxy war became more visible in 2015. We conclude that far from counteracting the dynamics of mass displacement, the proxy war may have contributed to the recent crisis of refugee reception in Europe.

The Rise of Private Military and Security Companies in European Union Migration Policies: Implications under the UNGPs

AbstractThis article examines the involvement of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) in both shaping and implementing the European Agenda on Migration (European Agenda), launched by the European Union in May 2015. The migration policies which have since been adopted have increasingly enabled the outsourcing to private security contractors of various border control operations, including those related to forced returns, administrative detention and security services for the Italian and Greek ‘hotspots’. The article argues that PMSCs frame, shape and entrench militarized responses in the European Agenda. It also contends that the current context of the European refugee ‘crisis’ meets the conditions of a high-risk context, as understood within the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). This re-definition of the refugee ‘crisis’ as a high-risk context, in turn, enables the identification of heightened human rights obligations of home states and responsibilities of companies when implementing the UNGPs.