Journal of contemporary European studies, Feb 19, 2024
During the refugee crisis, the EU collectively securitised the Schengen zone to manage the uncoor... more During the refugee crisis, the EU collectively securitised the Schengen zone to manage the uncoordinated reintroduction of national border controls in response to the influx of refugees. With Covid-19, the Schengen zone once again faced severe challenges in 2020, calling the survival of a borderless Europe into question. While in February 2020, internal border controls seemed a disproportionate measure, in March the reintroduction of internal border checks and travel bans was snowballing across member states. This article analyses the impact of Covid-19 on internal Schengen borders while applying the concept of collective securitisation. It considers the role of the member states and EU institutions to understand the securitising dynamics. It argues that the member states were in the driving seat of the securitisation process, with the EU accepting some of their rationale with a view to desecuritise Schengen.
The migration flow to EU in 2015 or the so called “migration crisis” forced the EU to take rapid ... more The migration flow to EU in 2015 or the so called “migration crisis” forced the EU to take rapid steps. One of them was a closer cooperation with Turkey which was the main transit country to Greece. The aim of this article is to examine the outcomes of the EU–Turkey Agreement in the context of accessions talks and effectiveness in decreasing the number of migrants arriving to Greece. One of the costs of this cooperation was supposed to be the speeding-up of both the negotiations and the visa liberalisation. However, after over a year since the Statement entered into force, this condition has not been fulfi lled because of the violation of human rights in Turkey. It is reason to say that the Agreement didn’t have impact on the accession talks, but it gave Turkey a strong argument for blackmailing. The aim of the Agreement was also to decrease the number of migrants arriving to Greek islands and the fact is that it remains much lower compering to 2015, what can be considered as the effect of the Agreement even if the decreasing tendency started before announcement of the EU–Turkey Statement. But there are more factors which has to be analysed as e.g. closing the border with Syria by Turkey.
The so-called ‘migration crisis’ facing the EU between 2015 and 2017 divided EU Member States and... more The so-called ‘migration crisis’ facing the EU between 2015 and 2017 divided EU Member States and caused a rise in populist and racist discourses. Countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic refused to participate in the EU relocation scheme. This paper explores what enabled this opposition to the EU. It analyses the securitising move of the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS) in constructing migrants as a security threat. It studies the adopted discourse and the effectiveness of the securitisation process, applying the Copenhagen School Approach to securitisation theory. Through an in-depth discourse analysis of a wide range of texts, we argue that the PiS discourse enabled the securitisation of migration and the subsequent decision to refuse the EU relocation scheme.
Journal of contemporary European studies, Feb 19, 2024
During the refugee crisis, the EU collectively securitised the Schengen zone to manage the uncoor... more During the refugee crisis, the EU collectively securitised the Schengen zone to manage the uncoordinated reintroduction of national border controls in response to the influx of refugees. With Covid-19, the Schengen zone once again faced severe challenges in 2020, calling the survival of a borderless Europe into question. While in February 2020, internal border controls seemed a disproportionate measure, in March the reintroduction of internal border checks and travel bans was snowballing across member states. This article analyses the impact of Covid-19 on internal Schengen borders while applying the concept of collective securitisation. It considers the role of the member states and EU institutions to understand the securitising dynamics. It argues that the member states were in the driving seat of the securitisation process, with the EU accepting some of their rationale with a view to desecuritise Schengen.
The migration flow to EU in 2015 or the so called “migration crisis” forced the EU to take rapid ... more The migration flow to EU in 2015 or the so called “migration crisis” forced the EU to take rapid steps. One of them was a closer cooperation with Turkey which was the main transit country to Greece. The aim of this article is to examine the outcomes of the EU–Turkey Agreement in the context of accessions talks and effectiveness in decreasing the number of migrants arriving to Greece. One of the costs of this cooperation was supposed to be the speeding-up of both the negotiations and the visa liberalisation. However, after over a year since the Statement entered into force, this condition has not been fulfi lled because of the violation of human rights in Turkey. It is reason to say that the Agreement didn’t have impact on the accession talks, but it gave Turkey a strong argument for blackmailing. The aim of the Agreement was also to decrease the number of migrants arriving to Greek islands and the fact is that it remains much lower compering to 2015, what can be considered as the effect of the Agreement even if the decreasing tendency started before announcement of the EU–Turkey Statement. But there are more factors which has to be analysed as e.g. closing the border with Syria by Turkey.
The so-called ‘migration crisis’ facing the EU between 2015 and 2017 divided EU Member States and... more The so-called ‘migration crisis’ facing the EU between 2015 and 2017 divided EU Member States and caused a rise in populist and racist discourses. Countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic refused to participate in the EU relocation scheme. This paper explores what enabled this opposition to the EU. It analyses the securitising move of the Polish Law and Justice Party (PiS) in constructing migrants as a security threat. It studies the adopted discourse and the effectiveness of the securitisation process, applying the Copenhagen School Approach to securitisation theory. Through an in-depth discourse analysis of a wide range of texts, we argue that the PiS discourse enabled the securitisation of migration and the subsequent decision to refuse the EU relocation scheme.
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