Lecture 3: European migration "crisis" and EU migration policies Flashcards
What makes an internally displaced migrant different from a refugee?
- internally displace person = not yet crossed an international border
- No international protection
- No aid from international organizations
What is the fundamental problem around multilateral migration governance?
- effectiveness requires transfer of national sovereignty over control immigration and settlement of non-citizens to supra-national governmental bodies and legal institutions
how have states already aimed at regulating international migration?
- bilateral negotiations
- regional agreements
- global governance
What are the 3 levels of mobility freedoms?
- Free entry (visa-free travel)
- Right of residence
- Right to establishment (right to work and do business)
Demonstrate (shortly) the timeline in EU migration regime?
1957: Treaty of Rome: creation of common market between 6 signatory states + freedom of movement if employment (set up European Community)
1986: Single European Act (SEA): (revision of Treaty of Rome): achieve common market + further pol/eco integration
1992: treaty on EU (TEU): immigration = in hands of member states
1995: Schengen Agreement: establish travel free zone
1997: Treaty of Amsterdam: issues concerning visas, asylum, immigration and other policies = first pillar EU
2007: Lisbon Treaty: complete inclusion of migration and asylum within framework of European treaties
What major conflicts shaped the refugee regime?
- Second World War
40 million European displaced persons -> went to Australia, Canada, and other countries - Cold War
Iron Curtain: non-departure regime => overall asylum levels = low - Other conflicts?
Israel vs Palestine conflict
Escalation struggles against white colonial or settler regimes in Africa in the 1960s
Resistance against US-supported military regimes in Latin America in the 1970s
Long drawn-out political and ethnic struggles in the Middle East and Asia
What restrictions were introduced to construct a fortress in Europe?
- Changes in national legislation to restrict access to refugee status -> extension of temporary protection ipv permanent refugee status
- Non-arrival policies -> prevent people without documentation from entering
- Diversion policies -> declaring bordering EU countries as safe third countries
- Restrictive interpretations
- European cooperation
What was the EU response to increased migration and how did it contribute to this sense of crisis?
1.EU = slow to respond -> in terms of providing additional assistance to support regions w refugees + movement of increasing numbers of refugees along Mediterranean
- failure of EU member states to share responsibility for dealing w increased arrivals in a pragmatic and principled way
What is a ‘containment chronotype’?
- focus on preventing or discouraging people from attempting to reach EU territory ipv providing protection and support/addressing factors causing people to move in the first place
What are some of the flawed assumptions and expectations underlying European policy?
- Assumptions about why people were on the move
-> refer to outdated push-pull model - Assumptions about the nature of the journey to Europe
-> assumption journey = linear + people leave country for Europe => in-between = neglected
=> direct eco resources to border controls ipv support for hosting refugee countries - Expectations regarding the impact of policymaking on refugee and migrant decision making
-> challenged by ad-hoc/dynamic decision-making processes - Assumptions about the nature and role of smugglers and smuggling networks
-> demand for smugglers = continue in absence of opportunities to escape violence, conflict, and unbearable poverty
-> + assumes large-scale smuggler network: often local
Is the “migration crisis” over?
- refugees and migrants = still crossing Mediterranean to Europe
- few meaningful developments in opening safe and legal routes
- EU policies = most likely increased ipv decreased demand for smugglers
- EU approach = costly + devastating effect on lives of refugees
-> EU = no long-term strategy to deal w sudden mass influx!
What are some of the elements that need to be included in a new approach to migration EU policy?
1) addressing drivers of migration
-> requires thinking through conseq of EU policies in areas of HR humanitarian action, foreign affairs, …
-> EU = need to think about drivers forced migration + role in creating/fueling conflict
2) providing access to protection and rights
-> EU = legally obliged to treat all arrivers in accordance with intl law
3) creating safe and legal entry routes
-> deterrence policies -> only increase extent human suffering -> not scale of migration
-> need for resettlement programmes, increasing humanitarian visas, establishing temporary intl protection
4) moving beyond the politics of containment
-> EU = should design/implement/monitor migration w third countries -> goal? To prevent refugees in abusive situations
Differentiate between migration journeys, migration trajectories and migration routes?
- migration journeys = specific cross-border travels of migrants
- migration trajectories = multiple journeys in various directions over a longer period of time
- migration routes = certain pathways migrants customarily follow -> collective outcome of indv migration decisions and behavior
What are some of the dichotomies existing in migration academia?
1) dichotomy between sending and receiving country
-> disregard ‘time-in-between’ = transit countries => only Europe = relevant destination
2) dichotomy between temporary and permanent
-> why misleading?
1. many migrants = Lybia/Iran/Turkey as their final destination but compelled to move due to changing conditions/realities
2. migrants = aim to travel further but cannot due to lack of resources => ‘stepwise’ migration
3) dichotomy between forced and voluntary
-> why misleading
1. the gap between state definitions
2. often exist in a continuum
3. motives for migration = may change over time
Explain the dichotomy between sending and receiving country?
-> disregard ‘time-in-between’ = transit countries => only Europe = relevant destination
-> misconception refuted: migrants : stay in transit countries + envision future in neigbouring country but due to changing conditions -> go to Europe
Explain the dichotomy between temporary and permanent migrants
-> why misleading?
1. many migrants = Lybia/Iran/Turkey as final destination but compelled to move due to changing conditions/realities
2. migrants = aim to travel further but cannot due to lack of resources => ‘stepwise’ migration
Explain the dichotomy between forced and voluntary migration
-> why misleading
1. gap between state definitions
2. often exist in a continuum
3. motives for migration = may change over time
What is transnationalism?
practices and institutions linking migrants, people, organizations in their homelands or elsewhere in a diasphora
What are network externalities?
- network externalities = generalized resources available in established migration flows such as smuggling networks or recruiting employers in destination communities
Does the idea of human smuggling from the EU match up with reality?
EU: ruthless criminal networks that organize journeys of large n of migrants, while putting migrants lives at risk
- fallacies around human smuggling:
1) smugglers as villains + migrants = powerless victims -> countered: smugglers = can also be supportive indvs, businesses or travel agencies
2) human smugglers = embedded in local communities and economies
What are techno-borderscaptes?
= transit zones; sites of embodied and virtual encounters among various state and non-state actors and to unravel the intersections between digital securitization, humanitarianism and activism.
What is the Schengen borders code?
= European regulation defining the rules for border control in the Schengen area -> how controls should be executed by member states
What are the main principles of EU border and migration policy?
- Common external borders and visa policy -> no internal border
-> common visa -> same visa in each member state - Member states = primarily responsible for border management -> Eg. NL should protect its borders w North Sea
- First member states where asylum seeker crosses the EU border = responsible for the reception, asylum and return processes
-> migrants w no legal status = have to leave/return - Migration and border management = should be in line w EU and international obligations, incl fundamental rights and SAR
-> Eg. forbid mistreatment - Member states receive EU support (EU solidarity in form of Frontex support)
What are the challenges for EU policy and functioning of Schengen area?
- Pressure of illegal migration at borders at frontline member states
- Challenging relations w neighboring third countries
- Secondary movements
- Pressure on asylum and reception systems in member states
- Ineffective return policy
- Borders and security: cross border crime and terrorism
What are the results of EU challenges and the migration crisis?
- Reintroduction of internal border control + increased pressure on asylum/reception systems
- Political stalemate in EU => no finished discussion on legislation
What is the migration and asylum pact introduced by the European Commission?
aim? to put in place a sustainable and comprehensive policy that proves a humane and effective long-term response to the challenges of irregular migration
instruments? legislation, recommendations, guidelines
- goal?
More efficient asylum, border, and return procedures
Better balance between responsibility and solidarity
Enhancing the capacity of the union concerning migration management (during the crisis)
Enhancing monitoring of fundamental rights
