Book review: Europe’s migrant policies: illusions of integration

Recent years have seen an increasing polarization of views on the EU, with many now debating its relevance in contemporary European politics. Europe’s Migrant Policies: Illusions of Integration examines the role and effectiveness of the EU in developing common migrant integration policies across Europe since the 1990s. Ruben Zaiotti welcomes the book’s contribution to debate about the EU’s role through rich empirical case studies. Its findings are also a cautionary tale for those who believe in the inevitability of European integration

Romania and Bulgaria have not been admitted to the Schengen Agreement because of the deep seated anxiety of the treaty’s current members about the regime’s future

Where will the Schengen Agreement be ten years from now? Ruben Zaiotti explores why its signatories are currently hesitant to admit Romania and Bulgaria. He argues that in the wake of the financial and economic crisis the Romanian and Bulgarian governments can only hope that Schengen club’s chronic anxiety can be channelled against someone else

Europe is suffering from a psychological blind spot over migration in the Mediterranean

The death of migrants in the Mediterranean remains a significant problem for EU migration policy. Ruben Zaiotti argues that Europe’s approach to the issue can effectively be termed a type of ‘externalisation’, in which the responsibility for migration has been off loaded to origin and transit countries. He writes that the best explanation for why Europe has adopted this model may be a psychological one, related to the internal dynamics within EU states

Escalating a ‘visa war’ with Russia could offer the EU an option to exert pressure over Ukraine

The EU has warned Russia that it could face stronger sanctions over the Ukraine crisis. Ruben Zaiotti writes on the role that visas could play in EU sanctions. He notes that applications from Russia make up the largest share of all Schengen visas issued and that Russia has one of the lowest visa refusal rates in Schengen states. He argues that taking a harder line on visa applications from Russia could therefore offer a natural route to exert pressure over Ukraine, however such a policy would also carry a significant cost for EU countries

Margaret Thatcher’s fixation on national borders played a fundamental role in the making of the Schengen regime.

For nearly twenty years, the Schengen policy regime has guaranteed freedom of movement throughout much of the EU. Ruben Zaiotti reflects on former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s opposition to Schengen: opposition which was based on a fixation on national borders and the apparent protection that they provide. He writes that in light of these criticisms, Schengen’s architects designed the regime to have the flexibility to cope with political turbulence and Euroscepticism, ensuring its success

The elephant in Europe’s living room: why the EU’s crisis summit must tackle the root causes of migration

EU ministers are due to meet on 14 September for an emergency summit on the ongoing migration crisis. Ruben Zaiotti writes that the real focus of the meeting should be on addressing the root causes of migration. He argues that while many of the factors underpinning the migration crisis, such as instability in the Middle East, are impossible to solve in the short-term, this should not be used as an excuse to avoid discussing what Europe can do to reduce the likelihood of future crises from occurring

The latest agreement on the governance of the Schengen border control regime simply revamps old rules and changes little on the ground.

Concerned by growing migratory pressures on Europe’s external borders, some EU member states have called for a revision of the rules regarding the imposition of national border controls within the EU. Ruben Zaiotti examines the recent agreement on the governance of the Schengen border control regime, which aims to clarify how these controls might operate. He argues that the agreement is a political one that gives relatively vague solutions to what are complex problems, and that the next crisis over Schengen is only a matter of time

La propagation de la sécurité : l’Europe et la schengenisation de la Politique de voisinage

L’objectif de la PEV est de créer une « communauté de sécurité » dans laquelle l’UE et ses voisins pourraient bénéficier de « relations proches, pacifiques et coopératives ». En dépit des objectifs affichés, le rôle de la sécurité est bien plus important dans la PEV que ce que laissent entendre ses défenseurs. Au lieu d’inciter les voisins à y participer, les mesures sécuritaires de cette politique portent atteinte à la promesse d’obtenir un meilleur accès au marché commun européen. La PEV semble refléter une vision euro-centrée de la sécurité régionale, remettant en cause l’idée d’un partenariat entre l’UE et ses voisins. Nous suggérons une analyse sociologique fondée sur la notion de « culture Schengen de la sécurité ». Il semble que la tendance sécuritaire de la PEV soit le résultat de la consolidation des hypothèses et des pratiques sous-jacentes de cette culture et de leur diffusion au sein de l’UE et dans l’attitude de celle-ci envers ses voisins.The aim of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is to create a “security community” in which the EU and its neighbours can enjoy “close, peaceful and co-operative relations”. I argue that, despite its stated objectives, the role that security plays in the ENP is more controversial than its proponents would suggest. Rather than corollary to the incentives that the EU offers to the neighbours, the security provisions in the ENP actually encroach on the promise of greater access to the EU’s Common Market. In turn, the ENP seems to reflect a EU-centric vision of regional security, challenging the claim that it represents a real partnership between the EU and its neighbours. In order to explain why the ENP has acquired these features, I propose a sociological account based on the notion of “Schengen culture of security”. From this perspective, the ENP was securitised as a result of the recent consolidation within the EU of this culture’s underlying assumptions and practices and their “spread” to the Union’s policy towards its neighbours