Third-country Nationals Research Articles

The Open Balkans and the Impact on EU Membership

The Open Balkans and the Impact on EU Membership

Influence of Labour Migration on the Rate of Youth Unemployment within the European Union: A Study Review

The European Union has been working on migration issues for several years now and several policies and structures have been developed to better manage processes connected to migration. Legal labour migration remains one of the challenges and is still a very fragmented and limited process. For some specific categories, legal labour migration is much easier, for example, highly qualified workers, seasonal workers, students, researchers, etc. This paper focuses on finding the role of labour migration on unemployment. Paper analysis cases within the European Union and methodologies used are research based on primary or secondary sources (documents, literature). The methods used in this paper are mainly qualitative and include document and text analysis and some case studies. The approach does not refer to the main challenges of migration in the European Union as the labour market does not legally integrate migrants from outside Europe (for example, third-country nationals) and does not legally integrate family members of legally migrated people, asylum seekers or even students studying in the European Union member state.

Has the seasonal workers directive missed its target? Evidence from Italy during the pandemic

AbstractIn 2014, the European Union adopted the Seasonal Workers Directive to achieve a twofold aim: meeting employers’ demand for flexible and cheap labour and enhancing protection for third-country national (TCN) workers. Especially Article 23, the equal treatment provision, triggered a cautious optimism among scholars and trade unions, which looked at the Directive as a source of increased protection for seasonal workers. However, trade unions also pointed out the limited reach of the Directive, criticising its lack of commitment and ambition. Over the years, and especially during the Covid pandemic, it became clear that the Seasonal Workers Directive did not represent a game-changer for TCN seasonal workers, whose increased protections remained true only on paper. This contribution draws on the case of Italy during the pandemic to understand the reasons for the Directive’s limited impact. The article critically examines the different political tensions underpinning the adoption of the Directive, to better understand why the Directive is not applied in practice and how it impacts the labour market and migrants’ social conditions.

A hatékony kommunikáció értéke a válságok idején

Aim: is to analyze the current state of the common means of communication and analysis of legislation in the field of mutual verbal and non-verbal communication between detained third-country nationals and police officers within the detention facilities in selected EU countries, which affects the prevention of misunderstandings and conflicts with particular respect to protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the detained foreigners.Methodology: Analysis and comparison of the respective legislative documents in selected EU countries and the European Court of Human Rights Case-law related to the violation of Article 5(2) regarding the right to language assistance is conducted in order to be enable a detained person to communicate in language a detained person understands as these rights directly affects the human rights, namely the right to liberty and security, of a third-country national detained in detention facility within the territory of the EU country.Findings: The analysis of the respective legislative documents within the selected EU countries showed differences in interpretation and consequently also implementation of the right to language assistance that is guaranteed as one of the procedural safeguards in the context of protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Different interpretation and implementation of the right to language assistance prevents effective communication between police officers and third-country nationals detained in detention facilities and causes frustration on both sides, especially during the times of migration crises when the effective communication becomes one of the main tools in prevention of misunderstandings and conflicts. The list of common peculiarities experienced across the EU countries was made. The analysis of the European Court of Human Rights case law proved remaining problems in provision of language assistance causing unnecessary complications for the EU countries and affecting the human rights of the third-country nationals detained in detention facilities.Value: The value of the study lies in provision of general overview of the remaining problems experienced by both – the police officers representing the respective EU countries and third-country nationals arriving into the territory of the EU and being detained in detention facilities, resulting from different interpretation and implementation of one of the human rights – right to language assistance which is guaranteed as a procedural safeguard at the international and European level, and at the national level of the respective EU countries. By detailed analysis of the core legal documents and the European Court of Human Rights case law, the attention is drawn to the legal consequences for the EU Member States. To prevent the negative consequences, the areas of required amendments are pointed out.

AVRUPA BİRLİĞİ ADALET DİVANI’NIN 9 KASIM 2021 TARİHLİ LW VE ALMANYA FEDERAL CUMHURİYETİ KARARI

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Common policy on asylum and subsidiary protection – Standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection – Directive 2011/95/EU – Articles 3 and 23 – More favourable standards capable of being retained or introduced by the Member States for the purposes of extending the refugee or subsidiary protection status of a beneficiary of international protection to family members – Grant of a parent’s refugee status to his or her minor child as a derived right – Maintaining family unity – Best interests of the child

“Re.boot”: interventi di rafforzamento e qualificazione della rete dei servizi socioassistenziali dell’Area Metropolitana di Bologna a supporto di nuclei familiari con minori provenienti da Paesi terzi

The following paper describes the experience of the “Re.boot – Capacity Building Paths and Actions for Community Well-being” Project, funded by the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (in Italian, FAMI) 2014-2020. This Project aims to qualify and strengthen the system of social welfare services in the Metropolitan Area of Bologna in order to counteract situations of hardship and vulnerability of third-country nationals who belong to families or single parents with dependent minors. Through the description of the project design, the activities carried out and the multidisciplinary work teams, we will try to detail the actions to strengthen networking and support parenting. The operational presentation of two paths of taking charge will allow us to highlight the growing risk of marginalisation of foreign families residing in Italy, due to a dramatic disparity of access to the economic, social and cultural resources necessary for the development of their children.

What might be the future migration and asylum policy of the European Union? Comment on the judgement of the Court of Justice, case C-808/18 European Commission v Hungary

In December 2020, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice delivered a judgement in European Commission v. Hungary case which is significant in many respects. The CJEU has confirmed that Hungary had failed to fulfil its obligations in providing migrants with international protection and returning illegally staying third-country nationals. The judgement is also of crucial importance in view of the Common European Asylum System and New Pact on Migration and Asylum. The comment aims at presenting possible consequences of the judgement for both the Hungarian administration and, most importantly, future instruments in the area of asylum in the EU.

Combating the Illegal Employment of Third-Country Nationals in the Member States of the European Union

Combating the Illegal Employment of Third-Country Nationals in the Member States of the European Union

The Crisis Of Civilizational Paradigm: Co-Radicalization Of Islamist And Populist Groups In Europe

Europe is facing several problems, some of which revolve around the issues of migration and integration of third-country nationals. Civilizational and culturalist paradigms seem to have poisoned how many European citizens have perceived Muslim-origin people. In this short intervention, Islamophobism, populism, nativism, Islamism, radicalization, extremism, violence, and terrorism are among the issues to be discussed, deliberated, and communicated. This intervention attempts to elaborate the destructive nature of the civilizational paradigm in Europe, leading to the co-radicalization of Islamist and right-wing populist groups.

Gender, migration and violence among third country nationals accessing the sexual health clinic in Malta.

In 2020, the number of displaced people worldwide reached 41.3 million (IOM, 2020). Among them, are many migrants and refugees at risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Healthcare providers have a key role to play in identifying migrant victims/survivors of violence. This paper seeks to assess STIs prevalence, sexual health and sexual violence among third country nationals (TCNs) attending the GUC in Malta. This is a mixed methods study carried out at the Genitourinary Clinic (GUC), which is the only public sexual health clinic in Malta. Demographic data, sexual history and diagnoses of patients attending the GUC between January 2018 and December 2019 were collected and retrospectively analysed. A SGBV risk assessment was performed through a semi-structured questionnaire. In the 24-month study period, a total of 12 654 patients accessed the GUC in Malta. Demographic data were collected on age, gender, nationality, marital status and sexual orientation. 16.4% (n = 2064) of these were extra-European migrants, predominantly male. 80 different nationalities were recorded, with the 5 most common being Nigerian, Filipino, Libyan, Syrian and Brazilian. The average age was 32.6 years. Over 110 sex workers were visited at the GUC in the study period - 20 were foreign, primarily from China. The presence of a 'massage parlour owner' during consultation, lack of control over passports and other factors were identified as warning signs of trafficking. 5 cases of sexual violence and forced prostitution involving girls from Sub-Saharan Africa and, in 2 cases, boys recently arrived in Malta by boat, were encountered. 6 African women accessing the service exhibited a type of female genital mutilation (FGM). Migration, sexual health and SGBV overlap in important ways. Further research and training in SGBV and migration in the healthcare setting and awareness-raising about existing services among the migrant population are required.

The Risks of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence: The Case of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System

AbstractIn recent years, the European Union (EU) has strongly promoted a human-centric and trustworthy approach to artificial intelligence (AI). The 2021 proposal for a Regulation on AI that the EU seeks to establish as a global standard is the latest step in the matter. However, little attention has been paid to the EU’s use of AI to pursue its own purposes, despite its wide use of digital technologies, notably in the field of border management. Yet, such attention allows us to confront the highly moral discourse that characterises EU institutions’ communications and legislative acts with a concrete example of how the promoted values are realised “on the ground”. From this perspective, this paper takes the case study of the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), an EU information technology system (planned to become operational in May 2023) that will provide travel authorisation to visa-exempt third-country nationals using a profiling algorithm. The paper shows, on the one hand, that ETIAS constitutes another piece in the massive infrastructure of digital surveillance of third-country nationals that the EU has been building for years. On the other hand, ETIAS’s algorithmic process is shown to be an instrument of differential exclusion that could well have an adverse impact on certain groups of foreign travellers. Ultimately, this paper argues that far from falling outside the scope of the trustworthy approach to AI championed by the EU, ETIAS – and more broadly the systematic risk evaluation predominant in the EU’s use of AI – is a constitutive part of it.

Climbing the Wall around EU Citizenship: Has the Time Come to Align Third-Country Nationals with Intra-EU Migrants?

Abstract This article discusses legal migration in the EU, in particular labour migration. It addresses the following question: once migrant workers from non-EU countries have been admitted into the Union, should they be treated like workers from EU countries for purposes of free movement? The EU migration acquis is one of the most politically charged issues covered by the EU Treaties. As EU citizens, nationals of member states enjoy a set of free movement and political rights that can be exercised in other member states in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality affirmed in Article 18 TFEU. This principle is arguably not applicable to third-country nationals. Thus, member states are free to accord unequal treatment to third-country nationals as compared to privileged EU immigrants. The pressing question is whether it is desirable to maintain different levels of rights for third-country nationals who have been legally admitted and whose connection to the host member state does not otherwise differ from that of EU citizens who have exercised their mobility rights. To answer that question, this paper examines arguments for and against treating migrant workers from EU countries and non-EU countries equally for purposes of free movement. It will show how these arguments push in different directions depending on whether they concern the political, human, social, cultural or economic impact of such differential treatment. Our analysis strongly suggests that, on balance, there are convincing reasons for aligning the treatment of long-term resident migrant workers from non-EU countries with that of migrant workers from EU member states.

On Carrier Sanctions – A Voice from Poland. The Liability of Carriers in the Jurisprudence of Administrative Courts

This article analyses carrier sanctions in light of Poland’s membership of the European Union and its obligation to protect the EU’s external borders. It offers an in-depth analysis of the scope of the carriers’ obligations with regard to bringing third-country nationals to the Eastern external border of the European Union and explores ways how these obligations should be fulfi lled correctly so that carriers are not obliged to pay administrative fi nes of as much as 3000-5000 euro per person. The research is based on an extensive review of the jurisprudence of Polish administrative courts and takes into account the specifi city of this jurisprudence.

Protecting Asylum Seekers and Migrants in the Context of the Rule of Law Crisis in EU Member States: The Recent Approach of the Court of Justice of the EU through the Lens of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration

In recent times, the CJEU has started to develop its judicial response to the “rule of law crisis” in some Member States. On the one hand, this new trend has emerged also as a reaction to some national reforms concerning asylum and migration law. On the other hand, the CJEU in protecting the EU founding values has deployed its “traditional” competences attributed to it by the EU Treaties, namely the mechanisms of the preliminary ruling procedure and the infringement procedure. Against this background, this contribution aims at investigating this new CJEU’s jurisprudence through the lens of the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration. This will lead us to reflect on how the CJEU’s caselaw could be seen as an effective tool to enhance the rule of law and protect third-country nationals, at least within the EU, and indirectly contributes to increasing compliance with some of the commitments laid down in the Global Compacts, regardless of the position taken by some recalcitrant EU Member States with respect to these documents.

Overview of recent cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union (September 2021-December 2021)

The concept of ‘working time’ for a period of stand-by time according to a stand-by system applicable to firefighters was interpreted by the Court in MG (C-214/20). In the Y case (C-636/19), the Court interpreted the concept of ‘insured person’ for the purpose of reimbursement of healthcare costs under Directive 2011/24. In the TS case (C-538/19), the Court dealt with another cross-border healthcare case. This time the question was whether a Member State can require an authorisation for cross-border healthcare to be subject to the submission of a medical report drawn up by a doctor from its national public health insurance system in light of Article 20 of Regulation 883/2004 and Article 56 TFEU. In ASGI and APN (C-462/20), the exclusion of third-country nationals from the eligibility to the Italian family card was under scrutiny. In SC (C-866/19), the Court clarified that the principle of aggregation applies to the calculation of the theoretical amount of benefit but not to the calculation of the actual amount of benefit under Article 52(1)(b) of Regulation 883/2004. In K (C-285/20), the Court held that being on sick leave and receiving sickness benefits can be considered as equivalent to the pursuit of an economic activity for the purpose of applying the rules on unemployment benefits for wholly unemployed frontier workers under Article 65(2) and (5) of Regulation 883/2004.

Borders in the future: policing unwanted mobility through entry bans in the Schengen area

ABSTRACT Despite their prominent role in the Return Directive and the constitution of the common European border regime, entry bans and their role in the governance of unwanted mobility remain largely unexamined in migration research. Entry bans accompany removal decisions for non-compliant or criminalised non-citizens, applying by default in the whole Schengen area, excluding EU citizens and legally residing third-country nationals, who receive national bans. In this article, drawing from my research on the immigration detention system in Finland, I discuss how entry bans sanction and irregularise movement mainly inside Europe, complicate non-citizens’ regularisation, and affect their mobility strategies. Despite also being intertwined with crime control in Finland, national entry bans seem largely ineffective in preventing unwanted mobility inside the Schengen area: many Estonian citizens, in particular, are detained and removed from Finland several times a year. Notwithstanding the Europe-wide effect intended in the Return Directive, national entry bans issued alongside Schengen bans reintroduce borders inside Europe. Furthermore, by prolonging the duration of removal orders for years, entry bans establish individual borders that may be faced in the future.

Pregled nezakonitih ulazaka u EU na području Sredozemlja od 2016. do 2021. godine

Pregled nezakonitih ulazaka u EU na području Sredozemlja od 2016. do 2021. godine

A Critical Multimodal Discourse Analysis of identification documents in the Greek asylum context

Reading the asylum governance through its narratives (Bhabha 2013), this paper aims to theorize identification documents as part of the nation-state’s narrativity performed through multimodal bureaucratic materialities. The contemporary narration linked to identification documents in the institutional space of asylum integrates an increasingly sophisticated and multimodal range of resources into its media content (Page 2018). Yet, these multimodal narrative productions are contextually situated practices and semiotic aggregates mirroring power relations and hierarchical positions (Milani 2017). Drawing on a critical multimodal approach to discourse analysis (Kress and van Leeuwen 2021), we explore the multimodal composition of four identification documents provided in the Greek asylum context. This critical approach to their design unveils the dynamic interplay between the verbal and visual elements in performing bordering practices and constructing the specific identities/statuses of the ‘asylum seeker.’ Semiotically, this identity work entails the deployment of digital meaning-making elements such as color, emblems, images, writing, layout, typography, shape, and material. In this sense, third-country nationals seeking international protection are resemiotized within a national (i.e., Greek), regional (i.e., European), and global context. In this context, identification documents can be seen as small institutional stories that reproduce the biopolitics of the nation-state contributing to a banal national semiosis (Milani 2014) of social categorization along broader contexts of globalization and asylum.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Schengen Borders: Automated Processing, Algorithmic Profiling and Facial Recognition in the Era of Techno-Solutionism

Abstract Since the past three decades, an elaborate legal framework on the operation of EU-Schengen information systems has been developed, whereby in the near future a series of personal data concerning almost all third-country nationals (TCN s) with an administrative or criminal law link with the EU/Schengen area will be monitored through at least one information system. This article provides a legal analysis on the embedment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools at the EU level in information systems for TCN s and critically examines the fundamental rights concerns that ensue from the use AI to manage and control migration. It discusses automated risk assessment and algorithmic profiling used to examine applications for travel authorisations and Schengen visas, the shift towards the processing of facial images of TCN s and the creation of future-proof information systems that anticipate the use of facial recognition technology. The contribution understands information systems as enabling the datafication of mobility and as security tools in an era whereby a foreigner is risky by default. It is argued that a violation of the right to respect for private life is merely the gateway for a series of other fundamental rights which are impacted, such as non-discrimination and right to effective remedies.

Schengen and the Administration of Exclusion: Legal Remedies Caught in between Entry Bans, Risk Assessment and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract To create an area in which persons can move freely, the Schengen states committed to control their external borders to prevent irregular immigration and the entry of third-country nationals (TCN s) who are considered to be ‘a public order and security risk’. The exclusion of ‘unwanted aliens’ can be based on the mutual enforcement of national decisions, such as entry bans reported in the Schengen Information System, or objections against the issuing of a Schengen visa, based on the consultation procedure in the Visa Code. This contribution focuses on the right of TCN s to have access to effective remedies, both with regard to existing and newer mechanisms of exclusion. It argues that when dealing with the use of large-scale databases and risk assessment as basis for excluding admission, existing rules and case-law by the CJEU should be taken into account to ensure access to effective judicial protection for TCN s.