The EU and the Politics of Migration in the Mediterranean: From Crisis Management to Management in Crisis

Author(s):  
Iole Fontana
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-58
Author(s):  
Mohamed Chamekh

This article explores illegal migration through Tunisian rap. It considers this music an aspect of resistance and protest against the socio-economic and political conditions obliging thousands of Tunisians to cross the Mediterranean in makeshift boats in search of better prospects and challenging the increasing security and legislative measures crippling mobility imposed by the EU and Tunisian authorities. This article contends that harga songs document the history of the working class in Tunisia and carve the identity of harraga as people who have been marginalised for generations. It concludes that EU-Tunisia security talks and dialogues remain ineffective as long as the root causes of illegal migration have not been addressed. Keywords: illegal migration, Tunisian rap, resistance, marginalization, security, immobility, identity


Author(s):  
Tatsiana Shaban

The European Union’s neighbourhood is complex and still far from being stable. In Ukraine, significant progress has occurred in many areas of transition; however, much work remains to be done, especially in the field of regional development and governance where many legacies of the Soviet model remain. At the crossroads between East and West, Ukraine presents an interesting case of policy development as an expression of European Union (EU) external governance. This paper asks the question: why was the relationship between the EU and Ukraine fairly unsuccessful at promoting stability in the region and in Ukraine? What was missing in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in Ukraine that rendered the EU unable to prevent a conflict on the ground? By identifying security, territorial, and institutional challenges and opportunities the EU has faced in Ukraine, this paper underlines the most important factors accounting for the performance of its external governance and crisis management in Ukraine.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v12i2.1310


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-629
Author(s):  
C Anguita Olmedo ◽  
P González Gómez del Miño

The European Union (EU) throughout its history has been the destination of diverse migratory flows. Therefore, migration has acquired special relevance by occupying a prominent position on the EU’s political, economic, cultural, and social agenda. The most recent migration crisis of 2015 represents a multidimensional challenge with severe consequences that affect, first, the institutional foundations of the EU (governance, security, solidarity of member states and institutional stability) and, second, the migratory policies of receiving states and the EU itself. This crisis is characterized, first, by the high number of illegal migrants that cross the Mediterranean, and, second, by the humanitarian tragedy and insecurity, which make the sea a grey area and an international reference in the migratory processes. The migration-security equation became a field of applied research and analysis, and at the same time a focus of political debate and public opinion. The article aims at analysing the crisis of 2015 and its consequences, which is done by means of the methodological approach based on the consequences that this phenomenon entails for the EU and for certain member states. The response of the EU is limited primarily to securitization by strengthening the external borders, turning towards internal security rather than respecting international and Community Treaties and promotion of their values, which contradicts the anticipated leadership of this global actor. The authors believe that it is necessary to implement new mechanisms in addition to ensuring greater effectiveness of the existing ones.


2021 ◽  
pp. 199-218
Author(s):  
Bilbil Kastrati ◽  
Samo Uhan

Abstract. The article considers whether the EU’s CSDP missions are a suitable crisis management mechanism for post-conflict situations, along with the EU’s relevance in crisis management at all. For this purpose, the EU’s biggest CSDP civilian mission EULEX was chosen as a research case study. The research results reveal that EULEX has not implemented its mandate, not met the expectations of security consumers, not made any difference on the ground, and cannot be seen as an example the EU should rely on in its future missions. Further, EULEX shows that CSDP missions suffer from many shortfalls and the EU CFSP from a capability–expectations gap. The article concludes that the EULEX mission does not show the EU’s relevance in the crisis management of post-conflict situations.


Author(s):  
Menelaos Markakis

This chapter looks at democracy, legitimacy, and accountability in Euro crisis management. It looks at the main critiques of the EU’s response to the crisis. It will be shown that scholars in this area castigate the EMU governance framework for its shortcomings in terms of input, output, and social legitimacy. The chapter makes the case for increased democratic controls and intense inter-institutional dialogue in the functioning of the EMU. It demonstrates how the crisis-induced developments have impacted on the horizontal and vertical distribution of power in the EU and the Member States. First, more powers were conferred on the Commission, Council, and Eurogroup in the measures enacted to combat the crisis. Though the European Parliament was heavily involved in norm production and had a pretty good strike rate in getting its amendments included in the final legislation, its role in policy implementation remains minimal. Second, the EU legislature put much of its reforming faith in a new recruit to strengthen democratic control in the EMU—the national parliaments. The crisis-induced legal and economic developments have circumscribed their budgetary sovereignty in many ways, but the newly enacted rules also serve to empower them vis-à-vis the executive. Third, the de facto division between borrower and lender states might have a bearing on the intra-institutional balance of power in the EU, and the emerging patterns of geographical fragmentation threaten the unity of the EU-28. The chapter set outs concrete proposals on how to enhance transparency and accountability in the EMU.


2019 ◽  
pp. 121-150
Author(s):  
Ċetta Mainwaring

The fifth chapter analyses how in the EU context Malta constructed a crisis around the issue of migration, and how the small state exploited the crisis to secure more EU funds and support. It thus focuses on how member states on the periphery respond to the new responsibility they face as EU migration gatekeepers. In this way, the chapter continues to explore the theme of power at the margins but moves away from the migrant experience to that of a small state at the edge of Europe. The chapter analyses Malta’s strategies at the EU level and its lobbying around particular policies between 2008 and 2016, including (1) the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, (2) the Schengen Borders Code, (3) the Dublin Regulation, and (4) the Long-Term Residents Directive. The research demonstrates how Malta exerted an unexpected level of influence on EU migration governance by adopting a number of strategies, including emphasizing its small state status, its gatekeeper role, and the ‘crisis’. The most significant success was the expansion of the concept of solidarity within the EU to not only include financial transfers but also the relocation of people. However, this success has come at a price: Malta’s construction and exploitation of a migration crisis reinforces the very emphasis on migration control at the external border that it has resisted. Indeed, the EU framework now shapes Malta’s interests and strategies, encouraging the construction of migration crisis in the Mediterranean and the reduction of migrants to symbols of suffering and disorder.


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