Schengen Research Articles

System Informacyjny Schengen drugiej generacji jako nowoczesne rozwiązanie informatyczne

<p>Strefa Schengen stanowi terytorium, na którym jest zagwarantowany swobodny przepływ osób. Jest obszarem, na którym została zniesiona kontrola graniczna na granicach wewnętrznych oraz stosowane są ściśle określone, jednolite zasady dotyczące kontroli na granicach zewnętrznych. W związku z powstaniem tzw. deficytu bezpieczeństwa na granicach wewnętrznych wdrożono instrumenty kompensujące owo zniesienie kontroli. Wśród najważniejszych należy wymienić utworzenie Systemu Informacyjnego Schengen w 1995 roku. Uległ on jednak przekształceniu w 2013 roku w System Informacyjny Schengen drugiej generacji w związku z powstaniem nowych i wzrostem już istniejących zagrożeń będących efektem głównie zwiększenia liczby państw członkowskich strefy Schengen. System ten jest obecnie jednym z nadrzędnych instrumentów umożliwiających transgraniczną wymianę danych o osobach i przedmiotach stanowiących zagrożenie dla bezpieczeństwa, zdrowia oraz porządku publicznego. Zapewnia organom wyznaczonym przez kraje (strony porozumienia) dostęp do baz danych gromadzących wpisy dzięki zautomatyzowanej procedurze wyszukiwania. System Informacyjny Schengen drugiej generacji jest złożony z systemu centralnego i podległych mu systemów krajowych w poszczególnych państwach członkowskich, co ma się przyczynić do zapewnienia wysokiego poziomu bezpieczeństwa obywateli Unii Europejskiej oraz strefy Schengen. </p>

Review zu: Dimitris Ballas, Danny Droling and Benjamin Hennig, The social atlas of Europe

The Social Atlas of Europe, as the title suggests, takes on a job of mapping social issues in Europe using mainly cartograms. The book includes the European Union (EU) member and candidate countries as well as the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Schengen countries. The thematic coverage is as impressive as the geographic coverage: identity and culture, education, employment, industry and occupation, health, politics, economics, environment, social cohesion and policy; 21 different data sources are listed, among which EU-related official statistics appear to dominate, but the authors also make use of specific studies such as the European Values Survey1 or the very general ones such as the CIA World Factbook2, and occasionally Wikipedia or various newspapers and organizations.

Zagrożenie przestępczością na wschodniej granicy Polski – struktura i dynamika zjawiska

Criminality on Polish eastern border – dynamics and structure
 Polish eastern border is both the internal and external EU and Schengen border. Polish eastern border is so called border between East and West of Europe. It has a significant role in Europe security. Therefore the aim of article is to show the threats to border’s security and also state security. Author will present the structure and dynamics of border criminality on Polish eastern border in 2004-2013. The hypothesis is that the border criminality is strongly influenced by migration, and in case of Poland it is high on the eastern section of the state border (external EU border). The analysis of structure and dynamics of border criminality on Polish eastern border in 2004-2013 will be conducted mostly in reference to the political factors that influenced the border status. There were EU enlargement (in 2004), Schengen enlargement (in 2007) and introduction of Local Border Traffic with Ukraine (in 2009) and with Russian Federation (in 2012). Those factors include some elements of EU policy towards ex USSR countries and influenced the scale of border criminality and other threats to border security on the East of Europe. The data presented will show the scale and specific of criminality on different border sections (with Russia, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine).

The new political geography of migration in Europe between external borders and internal freedom of movement

The creation of the Schengen area has modified the political geography of migration with important implications from a variety of perspectives, all of which affect the migration management policies of EU member States as well as those of third countries. On the one hand, the Schengen area established the first supranational border in the history of Europe; on the other hand, it obliged a small group of countries (those bordering non-EU States) to monitor the new border, manage refugee flows and repatriate illegal migrants from third countries, despite often being unprepared to tackle the migration phenomenon. The policies implemented in both the Mediterranean and continental countries have revealed a lack of long-term vision in dealing with several migration related issues. Currently, the absence of a single EU migration policy, the egocentric approach of some non-Mediterranean European countries and the re-emergence of border walls characterize the context. Nevertheless, migration flows and terrorism in Europe represent significant opportunities to strengthen the common European area, rather than weakening it. Moreover, evidence suggests that such global phenomena are better addressed at a supranational level rather than on a national basis.

Współczesny kryzys migracyjny a uwarunkowania międzynarodowoprawne

The text of Przemysław Saganek is a part of a wider discussion on the Mediterranean migration crisis. The author underlines the multi-aspect character of the crisis and the fact that several branches of international law which are at stake in it. They cover: the law on refugees, human rights, the law of the sea, the maritime law, the rules on territorial sovereignty and on the crossing of borders. What is of importance are customary norms, treaties and norms of the EU law. The idea of the author is to look at the instruments of international law which may act as incentive for hundreds of thousands of newcomers or as main obstacles for the states to put an end to uncontrolled inflow of people through their borders. His idea is to identify such instruments and start discussion on their possible suspension or termination if the crisis persists. The author comes to the conclusion that the definition of a refugee from the 1951 Geneva Conventionis not by itself a source of problems. The same concerns the subsidiary protection as introduced by the EU qualification directive. The same can be said about the scope of rights of persons covered by the international protection. The only element which requires discussion is the possible redefinition of the right to national treatment as regards the social aid. On the other hand, the scope of powers of states to defend their borders depends on the interpretation of the EU instruments on the protection of borders and the rights of applicants for international protection. The author comes to the conclusion that neither the procedural directive, nor the 2016 Schengen Border Code can be interpreted as a source of the right of an applicant to enter the territory of a Member State. On the other hand, the geographical conditions and the law of the sea make Greece and Italy the most vulnerable for the inflow of persons. The necessity of important changes to the law and its interpretation are referred to in a general way.

Dobre praktyki Francji i Rosji w zakresie zwalczania przestępczości granicznej oraz zorganizowanej z udziałem cudzoziemców

The paper addresses the issues of appropriateness and overall effectiveness of endeavours undertaken by selected countries (France and Russia) in the area of preventing, combating, and reducing illegal migration and criminality of foreign nationals. Analyses of the overall body of experience gained by those countries, often struggling with far more serious problems than ours, make it possible to highlight a variety of approaches to the issues under study, along with identifying new, frequently more effective ways of resolving them. In the section dealing with the French solutions, the author focused on those that are aimed specifically at preventing and combating illegal migration, mainly in the form of illegal residence in France. This is due to the fact that criminal offences committed by foreign nationals in France comprise primarily those related to illegal residence or illegal entry into the country. An in-depth review of the available instruments, mainly on the basis of specific regulations comprised in the Code of Entry and Residence of Foreign Nationals, in conjunction with the provisions regulating their right to claim political asylum, allowed to identify certain specific French solutions which might well be deemed good practices, with a view to having them considered for a prospective transposition into the Polish legal system, specifically into administrative and criminal law. When assessing the French regulations in terms of good practices, it appears prudent to consider their prospective transposition into Polish criminal or administrative law, especially with regard to the following areas. First of all, one would need to consider the option of imposing a lifetime ban on the entry into Poland for committing an offence related to illegal migration, but also with regard to other common offences. It is essential in terms of combating illegal migration, to have any individual conduct involving aiding or facilitating a third party’s illegal border crossing, contravening the law regulating the length of residence, or illegal residence in other countries of the Schengen Area, or in other EU Member States, duly criminalized, and not on the territory of Poland only. Another key solution at hand consists in the option to impose a ban on residence in France, also issued in the form of an administrative decision by the Minister of Internal Affairs, which might also apply to those individuals who are not currently residing in France, or those who have never held such residence do date, whereas might be deemed potential threat to public order. In the section dealing with Russia, the author aimed to address specific projects designed to combat illegal migration of foreign nationals and criminality at large (including organized crime) undertaken in that country. It was established that the Russian Federation was actively involved in combating both phenomena. In terms of preventing and reducing illegal immigration into the Russian Federation, several specific projects have been undertaken. In particular, The Concept of State Migration Policy for 2025 was developed, which sets out the objectives, principles, tasks, key directions, and specific constraints in the implementation of state migration policy across the country. It emphasises the need for the introduction of a number of modifications of legal, organizational and social nature, aimed specifically to radically restructure a number of areas within overall state migration policy. Several amendments were made to the Russian Penal Code of 1996, pertaining to illegal border crossings, organizing illegal migration, and others, as well as to the Code of Administrative Breaches of the Law of 2001 (i.e. a series of offences in breach of border security, visa procedures, etc.).

Trends and Characteristics of Tourism Development in Slovenia

The paper discusses geographical characteristics of Slovenia from the perspective of tourism development and presents main processes that have marked it in the last decades. Tourism has significantly affected the appearance as well as economic and social structure of many Slovenian regions. The paper focuses on the role of various factors, which influenced tourist attraction of Slovenia and its regions, as well as on changes in tourism supply and demand in the last decades and their relation to some of the political and economic events. Recently, Slovenia has experienced an above-average rate of tourism growth. Several of the nation-state’s geopolitical decisions impacted the growth of the tourism economy: Slovenia became a member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) (2004), introduced the Euro as the national currency (2007) and became a full member of the Schengen Space (2009). However, impacts of these changes were not comparable to the impacts of political and economic disruptions, related to the disintegration of Yugoslavia, which caused drastic decline in foreign tourists’ numbers at the beginning of the 1990s. Despite long-term growth trends, tourism in Slovenia is already facing many challenges (e.g., unreliable snow cover in the winter season in Alpine resorts as a result of the climate change impacts). Moreover, the growth of tourism has caused some environmental and social problems (or at least contributed to them) in those areas where tourism development has been the most intensive. Nevertheless, impacts of tourism have been rather limited. One of the important reasons why, so far, tourism has not caused any large-scale environmental or social problems is the fact that Slovenia has not developed real mass tourism. In the European context, Slovenia remains an only moderately developed tourist destination. Due to the growing competition on the global tourism market a continuous adaptation to the changing tourism demand is of crucial importance, taking into account not just short-term gains, but especially tourism sector’s long-term viability. From this perspective, also sustainable tourism principles should be considered more relevant.

Bezpečnostní management - systémový přístup

Cilem sděleni je využiti systemoveho přistupu k uchopeni bezpecnostniho managementu, jako praktickeho oboru a nove vědni discipliny. Filosofie systemoveho přistupu k řeseni problemů obecně je vhodným metodologickým zakladem i pro teorii managementu. Cesta ke skutecne optimalizaci bezpecnostni situace v managementu vede jen přes holisticke, celistve řeseni. Aplikace ze systemove analýzy a syntezy dokladaji, že systemový přistup a systemove mysleni v bezpecnostnich objektech nemaji absentovat. Pravdivost tvrzeni, že bezpecnostni management je etablovanou disciplinou, je zavisla na pokracujici diskusi, jež představuje užitecný proces vývoje nove vědni discipliny. Racionalita vědy a systemovosti působi zaroveň jako protivaha iracionalniho strachu cele lidske spolecnosti. Jake zůstavaji otevřene otazky bezpecnosti ve vztahu k „nasim zajmům“? Aktualni problemy Evropy by měly být řeseny systemově. Je třeba definovat zajmový prostor, teritorialně buď hranice EU, nebo Schengenskeho prostoru, zavest system na objekt s ohledem na hranice prostoru, specifikovat strukturu a subjekty rozhodovani a implementace. Klicova slova: Bezpecnostni management, systemový přistup, ICT, kybernetika, výzkum, krizove řizeni, systemove mysleni, terminologie. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18267/j.aip.79

Support of Road Freight Transport Especially in North-East Part of Schengen Borders

Green logistics is very attractive and request the point of view. Many companies try to be “green”, but on the other hand they also must be quick, be in right time in the right place and everything with as low costs as possible. So because of it, they use more road freight transport. Nowadays road freight transport is much expanded as transport companies prefer the possibility to operate just-in-time. There are several advantages that give road freight transport the first place. Firstly, the truck can be prepared whenever, no matter what time is chosen. Secondly, the flexibility and no more borders with customs control inside the Schengen Area make freight transport quicker. On the other hand, innovative approaches ask for environmental protection, which becomes one of the most important points of view. If countries support this environmental friendly transport, this would be reflected in the transport prices which should make rail transport more interesting. Using the methodology in the manuscript was divided to three steps. The first step is to identify relevant questions related to border crossing. Next step is to elaborate a list of border problems, and the last step is an analysis of available data.

The Court of Justice As a Progressive Force for Rights Recognition in EU Migration Law (Presentation Slides)

This paper looks into the role of the Court of Justice and the juridification of EU law and suggests that using the harmonization of EU immigration and asylum law as a driving force, the Court can be more than a liberal constraint to the sovereign ambitions of the member states and can act as a progressive factor for rights recognition.It is argued, based on the examination of the Court’s jurisprudence and focusing particularly on a series of rulings produced in 2014, that the CJEU might be exploring the limits of rights recognition in the field of migration. The Court’s reasoning, enriches the harmonization process and implies far-reaching present and future effects for migration and asylum policies in Europe.In particular, the Court has ruled that the Schengen Borders Code, the Visa Code and the Students Directive list exhaustive grounds for refusing visa and admission. Thus, the states have no discretion to refuse an applicant based on grounds not listed in the relevant EU instruments. As long as third country nationals fulfill the requirements set therein, they have the right to be admitted and to be issued a visa.The paper analyzes the far reaching consequences of the development of the Court’s case law, as they manifest themselves in questioning sovereign international law prerogatives of states to control immigration, and in the reading of a right to be granted asylum in Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Balancing Between Solidarity and Responsibility: Estonia in the EU Refugee Crisis

Abstract After the establishment of the Schengen area, it was expected that its members would develop a common policy on external border management and protecting external borders. As the current refugee crisis has revealed, some countries have not met their obligations, which has led to serious difficulties in other member states. An unusually large number of refugees are passing through the EU with the purpose of going to countries that attract refugees with better economic and social conditions. Nevertheless, in the present case the criticism at the European Union level has been targeted towards the Eastern European countries for not eagerly enough accepting the proposed refugee strategy and quotas. Estonia’s opposition to the EU-wide permanent relocation system of refugees has its roots in the conservative line that the country has followed in the national refugee policy for more than twenty years. However in 2016 the positions among the Estonian governmental coalition differ significantly in terms of long term refugee strategy. The current article will focus on the arguments why Estonia has opted for the conservative refugee policy so far and whether it has been in accordance with the country’s capabilities and resources. The development of Estonian refugee policy will be analysed, from regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 to the present day. The article will also focus on security risks that might occur due to the pressure from the EU on the member states to impose decisions that do not have broad support at the national level.

The Schengen Convention and the Schengen acquis: 25 years of evolution

This article describes the evolution of the Schengen Convention, given that 2015 marks 25 years of its existence. Most of the Convention is no longer in force. Some of its provisions were already integrated into European legislation at the time of the integration of cooperation under Schengen into the European Union. Other provisions have been replaced and/or removed from the Schengen acquis. The evolution of the Convention has been influenced by the integration of associated states. Presently, testing whether a legal development is part of the Schengen acquis involves checking whether the criteria for cooperation with the associated states have been fulfilled.

Migrant mobilities in Europe: Comparing Turkish to Romanian migrants

Besides huge differences in attitudes towards the European Union (EU), it seems to be common sense in nearly all strata of EU member states’ societies that the EU created a common and seemingly borderless space of mobility for its inhabitants. Sometimes this characteristic is not only the first positive thing that comes to people’s mind when asked about the Union but also the only one. This paper investigates to which extend Turkish migrants as third-country citizens residing in EU member states make use of this mobility space in a physical and non-physical manner. Data on Romanian migrants is used to contrast these findings. The analysis builds on recent survey data on transnational activities of migrants and nationals in six EU member states (Denmark, Germany, Italy, Romania, Spain and United Kingdom) collected by the EUCROSS study. It is found that a considerable part of the interviewed Turkish migrants visited other EU member states recently, but that, nevertheless, intra-EU mobility is less common in their case than for migrants from Romania. However, this difference can neither exclusively nor mainly be explained by the absence of European citizenship or by the residence within or outside the Schengen space.

Policing the internal Schengen borders – managing the double bind between free movement and migration control

ABSTRACTAnalyses of security practices at borders have focused on the dematerialisation and de-territorialisation of control of individuals’ mobility. This paper explores the nature of the control the state still exercises over individuals’ mobility at national borders. It focuses on a border that is supposed to have been opened, between France and Italy, inside the Schengen Area. It is based on analysis of the practices, representations and organisation of French border police officers, beginning with the legal and organisational transformations due to implementation of the Schengen Convention at the France–Italy border. It then turns to the study of border police officers’ targeting practices, using Heyman's notion of a ‘plausible story’. Finally, it assesses the influence of deportation practices on the territoriality of the control of individuals’ mobility, as well as its effects on targeting practices. These borders are at the core of the interaction between the construction of a new, European political centre, and the affirmation of an older one, the national, political centre. This paper demonstrates that border police officers are in charge of dealing with the tension, a double bind of sorts, emerging from this interaction. National, internal borders are still a site in which the state manages individuals’ mobility.

TACTICS OF BORDER CROSSING MOVEMENT: EXPLORING THE MOBILITY OF BRAZILIANS THROUGH THE SCHENGEN AND UK AIRSPACE

This paper addresses the relations between migrants, mobility, tactics, negotiation, and the contemporary definition of borders in the aftermath of 9/11.The empirical focus of this paper is how Brazilians from Alto Paranaiba journey through airports located in the Schengen area and in the British territory to London. As a main research orientation, I use the notion of journey as approached by mobility studies, where actions and skills remain an important link between the wayfarer and the social space in which s/he moves through, the embodied practice to how we grasp the world. Migrants deal and struggle against border regime, but they are not powerless social actors. They rather produce creative resistance to reinvent their journey through the surveillance apparatus, which manage and delimit places with targets and threats. In this process, I explore the notion of border crossing movement as a tactical mobility developed by migrants to overcome the border control imposed by governments in airports. The article was drawn through fieldwork conducted initially in London, between 2009 and 2013, and afterwards in Alto Paranaiba, during 2013. The ethnographic study consisted in semi-structured interviews, participant observation through snowball technique, which enabled me to access a considerable number of participants in these two regions explored. The argument that I develop is that migrants as social actors are part important in the dialogue produced between border crossing and border reinforcement.

After the wall: touring the European border space in post-1989 French-language cinema

This article examines French-language films produced after, and sometimes inspired by, the fall of the Berlin Wall and of communism in Eastern Europe. Commentators such as Alain Badiou have argued that that post-Wall ‘borderless’ Europe has failed to live up to its promise and cinema has taken a leading role in mapping what ‘Fortress Europe’ looks like from those literally or figuratively on the outside. I propose in this essay a different angle of vision, one that takes into account cinematic representations of what I label ‘touring’, an activity related to the often-maligned practice of tourism. Tourism, however, is changing and is often seen under a new light, particularly in Europe, where it is believed to have a crucial role in the construction of European citizenship. Low-cost air travel made possible by deregulation of the airline industry has made borderless travel within Europe increasingly affordable and common. The touring on display in eight cinematic case studies addressed here combines tourism with a variety of other practices that include work, study and ‘visiting friends and relatives’. I argue that this cinematic activity within the ‘soft border’ (K. Eder, 2006. ‘Europe's Borders: The Narrative Construction of the Boundaries of Europe'. European Journal of Social Theory 9 (2): 255–271) space of Europe or ‘borderland Europe’ (É. Balibar, 2009. ‘Europe as Borderland’. Society and Space, 27: 190–215) – in other words, the spaces within the EU and Schengen Zone – promotes what Balibar has called ‘translation’ and a variety of encounters with the potential to engender transnational hybridity and new, flexible notions of identity.

Historical Heritage in Contemporary Polish Law Relating to Foreigners

The Polish diaspora living around the world is best described as an inheritance of the turbulent history of Poland. For decades, citizens of Polish origin from various states have been trying to maintain ties with their kin and country. During communist times, citizens of Eastern European countries (including the Soviet republics) could not enjoy free contacts across borders. Poland's accession to the European Union and Schengen area has created new barriers for third country nationals willing to come and stay in Poland. Therefore, any facilitation or exemption from visa requirements is very attractive for them. Legal instruments relating to foreigners which have recently been adopted in Poland affect the situation of Polish minorities and the rights of their members. The author reveals the historical roots of the legal solutions and indicates the specificity of Polish immigration law. First, she considers the historical background of the links between immigration law and minority rights, particularly in the area of economy, culture and education. She comes to the conclusion that well-constructed immigration provisions may be useful in filling gaps in the protection of minorities and that the new ways of acquisition of citizenship may to some extent compensate old harms and injustice.

The European Parliament as an actor in EU border policies: its role, relations with other EU institutions, and impact

This contribution focuses on the European Parliament (EP) as an actor in European Union (EU) border policies. It situates the Parliament in the dynamics of the Schengen project and discusses the distinct role it plays therein, as well as its impact thereon. The article argues that the EP managed to establish itself, years before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, as a credible actor in border policies able to bring the citizens’ perspective into EU border policies. With its keen interest in the Schengen area as an area in which citizens can move freely without being subject to border controls, and with its focus on fundamental rights, it played, and continues to do so, a role in ensuring that “Schengen works”. The article presents its powers and the interplay with the other EU institutions, mainly on the basis of a number of key examples.

Securitization of Migration

This article presents a qualitative and empirically oriented analysis of theItalian political discourse which took place in response to the immigrationwave that appeared after the outbreak of the Arab Spring in the first half of2011. Using the concept of securitization introduced by the CopenhagenSchool, the author seeks to deconstruct the discursive strategy of SilvioBerlusconi’s government at the time, which was intended to legitimizeextraordinary reactive measures at both national and supranational (EU)levels. The author also provides an interpretation of how the Italian cabinetpresented the mass influx of African migrants while exerting instrumentalpressure on the EU to provide appropriate assistance to Italy. The articleconcludes by showing how the discourse, which was accompanied byadministrative and political practices, led to an escalation of the crisis withinthe EU and subsequently opened up the space for a fundamental revisionof the rules regarding the Schengen area.

Crimmigration at the Internal Borders of Europe?<br>Examining the Schengen Governance Package

This article focuses on how the Schengen Governance Package, and in particular the revised legal framework on the temporary reinstatement of internal border checks, should be valued within the broader process of crimmigration. First we elaborate upon both the recent incidents that underline the criminalization of migration in Europe and the recent developments in the Schengen legal framework on internal border control. Subsequently, based on an analysis of official notification letters issued by the respective Member States, we analyse the development of how often, and on which grounds, they temporarily closed their internal borders in the period of January 2000 - March 2014. In doing so, we pay attention not only to the question whether Member States have been using (the fear of) (cr)immigration as a reason to invoke the exception clause, but also to the transparency of the procedures that were followed. Following an assessment of the Schengen Governance Package in light of this analysis, we address certain other forms of border control developing within the Schengen zone. In conclusion, we argue that the way in which the European Commission and the Council responded to immigration-related anxieties is understandable but might have contrary effects in the long run.