Iglicka, Krystyna

English

Policy Documentation Center

 CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 
Centrum Stosunków Międzynarodowych 
Center for International Relations 
Repor ts&Ana l yses      4 / 04 /A  
 
Krystyna Iglicka 
 
EU Internal Security from the Perspective 
of International Migrations  
and Multiculturalism Dillemas 
 
(A digest of a Polish version ‘Unijny wymiar bezpieczeństwa z perspektywy 
migracji międzynarodowych i dylematów wielokulturowości’) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The report was created in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.  
ul. Emilii Plater 25, 00-688 Warszawa 
TEL.: (22) 646 52 67, FAX: (22) 646 52 58 
www.csm.org.pl, info@csm.org.pl 
 
Center for International Relations© 
 
Krystyna Iglicka  
 
It has become intellectually fashionable in recent years to proclaim the diminishing 
importance of borders and territorial controls. The conventional wisdom has been that 
growing economic integration and interdependence necessarily leads to a retreat of 
state, more open borders, and more harmonious cross-border relations. Prophets of 
globalization have optimistically argued that territory is passé and have been 
popularizing the notion of an emergent ‘borderless world’. That was before 
September 11th 2001. Borders are now back with a vengeance.  
 
In the world after September 11th and in Europe after March 11th, 2004 
international migration has stopped being mainly a subject of demographic or social 
discussions that were trying to balance problems of economic growth and cultural 
integration with problems of social welfare and good self-consciousness of voters. 
The relation between internal security and immigrants seems to take much more 
importance and new quality these days.   
 
The relationship between migration and security is one facet of these 
deliberations that has become increasingly critical for policy makers in the wake of 
September 11, 2001. Given the cross-border dimensions of international terrorism, it 
is clear that this form of security threat is also a migration issue. Various policy 
measures have been and continue to be introduced by governments all over the 
world. Migration policy is just one area where national and international law 
enforcement can act against transnational crime.  
 
After-September 11th, governments across the globe are instituting various 
measures to tackle increased security threats in a number of broad areas. These 
measures are e.g.: enhanced border control, tighter internal migration controls, 
biometrics and increased collection and exchange of data on regional level.   
 
Although the utility of the measures described above is not in question, they 
focus solely on migration control, and may therefore not be sufficient without 
consideration of such broader aspects as the socio-economic conditions favoring 
criminality and extremism. An immigrant population that is successfully integrated 
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into the host community and local labor market may offer a less promising 
recruitment ground for transnational criminal networks. To this end, various 
governments are pursuing programs aimed at combating xenophobia and 
discrimination, alongside efforts to tighten immigration controls. 
 
Migration and integration policies vary from country to country and are closely 
connected to specific national traditions. Nevertheless, each national policy has to 
provide answers to certain key questions. In the field of immigration, some of these 
questions are: how many immigrants should come? Who should come, from where, 
with what characteristics (for instance in terms of age, sex, qualifications, and ethnic 
origin)? As for integration, the question might be: what should be the relationship 
between the groups who come and the receiving society? Should there be a policy to 
form a multi-ethnic (multicultural) society, or should there be a policy of assimilation 
or integration? 
 
Hitherto existing developments of the inexperienced Polish migration policy 
have been focused on creation of migratory legislative acts mainly. The law has been 
concentrated on regulations concerning entry into Poland, stay in the country, exit 
and also settlement procedures. Furthermore some institutional base has been 
formed. However, so far, the integration component of the Polish migration policy has 
been completely neglected. 
 
As it was already mentioned, the differing responses to immigration are linked 
to varying historical experiences of nation-state formation. A central issue is the way 
in which nation-states regulate admission to the community of the nation (that is the 
rules for access to citizenship). Equally important are the varying rights and 
obligations connected with membership of the nation. 
 
  In Central and Eastern European nations the dominant criteria for belonging 
to a nation are based on membership of an ethnic group or a cultural community. The 
official aim in such countries is to maintain ‘ethnic purity’ and ‘cultural homogeneity’, 
although both are myths, for modern nations are almost invariably the product of past 
migrations and amalgamations of ethnic groups. For countries which have been at 
the historical cross-roads of invasions, migrations, and the rises and falls of empires, 
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the long history of border struggles helps to explain – though not to justify - present 
attitudes towards minorities. 
 
Majority of the EU countries and traditional immigration countries such as 
USA, Canada or Australia prove that a character of an ethnic group is determined, to 
a large extend, at the early stage of immigration, by the immigration policy of a 
receiving country.  Policy favoring illegal stay or work helps to form a gray sphere of 
migration and leads to social marginalization and exclusion and as a result to 
blooming of xenophobic and racist attitudes in a receiving society.  
 
At the end of the 1980s, the transformation of the political and economic 
structure of the Central and Eastern European region disturbed what had been stable 
migration trends. After the collapse of the communist regime in 1989, the Central 
European countries and Poland on the first place unexpectedly encountered a 
number of previously unknown (or seldom experienced) population phenomena. 
Among these were the massive spatial mobility of citizens of the former USSR, 
growing waves of asylum seekers, labor migration, from both the East and the West, 
permanent immigration (mainly from the East), formation of new immigrant 
communities and the return migration of former émigrés.    
 
Isolated for much of the post-Second World War period, the Central European 
countries are now in the preliminary stage of the inflow of immigrants from outside 
the region itself, which leads in many cases to the formation of ‘exotic’ diasporas in 
this part of Europe. The arrival of completely new and exotic for this region groups of 
e.g. Vietnamese, Chinese and Armenians takes all forms of inflow - from illegal, 
through temporary stay, arranged marriages, to setting up a business and permanent 
settlement.  As yet, it is hard to draw any broad conclusions regarding either the 
future feature of immigration or the reactions of local governments and local 
communities or political parties to this phenomenon. 
 
In the 1990s Central European region also became one of the major transit 
regions in Europe for hundred of thousands of trafficked in mainly from India, Sri 
Lanka or Bangladesh. A serious challenge for Polish internal security system may 
be created by the lack of readmission agreements between Poland and Russia and 
Poland and Belarus.  
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In the direct Polish neighborhood there are countries, which have serious 
economic difficulties and a big migratory potential. Countries, that have been the 
biggest exporters of migrants into Poland so far.  
 
Indeed, from the perspective of the relation between the receiving society and 
immigrants the challenges for the Polish migration policy are quite intense. 
Needless to say that within a brief span of time i.e. since the beginning of 1990s, 
policy makers in Poland let completely carelessly marginalize some immigrants’ 
groups as e.g. refugees and create a quite big gray sphere of labor immigrant-
workers in Poland.  
 
 For the whole European Union in the next few years the challenging problem 
will have to be resolved of how to combine a new migration policy resulting from the 
demographic situation with the fear of immigrants and terrorism. The internal 
security of the EU has become a particularly important value in the past few years. 
This should not be surprising. As a result of the single market formation, the removal 
of internal frontiers, the inhabitants of the different member states of the Union wish 
to be sure that the new situation will not cause any increase of the threats posed, 
e.g. by the rise of criminality. Therefore, enormous importance is attached to the 
protection of the external EU borders. They must be impermeable for illegal 
immigrants and for organized crime.  
 
In the era of growing concerns about security, Western democracies have 
been challenged by the dilemma between the human rights and economic’ demands 
on the one hand and political and security pressures on the other. Thus, the key 
issue seems to be how far the liberal state can move in order to protect its internal 
security and whether there is any solution to this dilemma?    
 
Ethnic questions have always been a significant issue for Western 
democracies, which means that the EU enlargement will result in the situation that 
the issue of minorities and immigrants living in the new member states will not only 
be a local CEE question but also a European issue. 
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Center for International Relations  
 
 
WHO WE ARE?  
 
The Center for International Relations (CIR) is an independent, non-governmental 
establishment dedicated to the study of Polish foreign policy as well as those international 
political issues, which are of crucial importance to Poland. The Center’s primary objective is 
to offer political counselling, to describe Poland’s current international situation, and to 
continuously monitor the government’s foreign policy moves. The CIR prepares reports and 
analyses, holds conferences and seminars, publishes books and articles, carries out 
research projects and supports working groups. Over the last few years, we have succeeded 
in attracting a number of experts, who today cooperate with the CIR on a regular basis. Also, 
we have built up a forum for foreign policy debate for politicians, MPs, civil servants, local 
government officials, journalists, academics, students and representatives of other NGOs. 
The CIR is strongly convinced that, given the foreign policy challenges Poland is facing 
today, it ought to support public debates on international issues in Poland.  
 
The founder and president of the Center for International Relations is Mr Janusz Reiter. 
 
 
OUR ADDRESS:  
 
UL . Emilii Plater 25, 00-688 WARSZAWA  
tel. (0048-22) 646 52 67, 646 52 68, 629 38 98  
fax (0048-22) 646 52 58  
e-mail: info@csm.org.pl  
You are welcome to visit our website:  
www.csm.org.pl  
 
OUR SPONSORS:  
 
• The Ford Foundation  
• The Stefan Batory Foundation  
• The Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Poland  
• German Marshall Fund of the United States  
• Robert Bosch Stiftung  
• The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation  
• Haniel Stiftung 
• PAUCI  
• Bank Przemysłowo-Handlowy PBK S.A.  
• WestLB Poland S.A. 
 
 
A number of projects implemented by the Center have been sponsored by the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and Ministry of Defence.  
 
The Reports and Analyses of the Center for International Relations are available on-
line at the CIR website: www.csm.org.pl  
 
 
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EU internal security from the perspective of international migrations and multiculturalism dilemmas

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