The European Commission And The Transformation Of Eu Borders

This book examines the contribution of the European Commission to the process of transformation of EU borders. Migration issues have been at the centre of EU political debates in recent years. From national controversies sparked by the economic difficulties in the aftermath of the 2008 economic downturn to EU-wide problems caused by the record number of asylum seekers looking for a refuge in the Union. Simultaneously, the EU migration regime has undergone a profound change since the 1980s as a result of the developments in the integration process. Inevitably this has impacted borders, transforming their nature and functions. The author looks at four key EU policy areas, which in recent decades have substantially altered the EU migration regime: the European Neighbourhood Policy, social policy, border controls, and free movement of people. Based on a variety of Commission documents the analysis focuses on the different borders that have been transformed, their altered nature and functions, and the specific impact of the European Commission on to these processes.

Changing Borders in Europe focuses on the territorial dimension of the European Union. It examines the transformation of state sovereignty within the EU, the emergence of varied self-determination claims, and the existence of a tailor-made architecture of functional borders, established by multiple agreements. This book helps to understand how self-determination pressures within the EU are creating growing concerns about member states’ identity, redefining multi-level government in the European space. It addresses several questions regarding two transformative processes – blurring of EU borders and state sovereignty shifts - and their interrelations from different disciplinary perspectives such as political science, law, political economy and sociology. In addition, it explores how the variable geographies of European borders may affect the issue of national self-determination in Europe, opening spaces for potential accommodations that could be compatible with existing states and legal frameworks. This book will be of key interest for scholars, students and practitioners of EU politics, public administration, political theory, federalism and more broadly of European studies, international law, ethnic studies, political economy and the wider social sciences.

The "deepening and widening" of the EU has thrown its changing internal and external borders into sharp relief. This work demonstrates that borders are key spaces within which issues such as identity, memory and trust, and communication between states continue to be played out and transformed.

It is generally assumed that regional integration leads to stability and peace. This book is a systematic study of the impact of European integration on the transformation of border conflicts. It provides a theoretical framework centred on four 'pathways' of impact and applies them to five cases of border conflicts: Cyprus, Ireland, Greece/Turkey, Israel/Palestine and various conflicts on Russia's border with the EU. The contributors suggest that integration and association provide the EU with potentially powerful means to influence border conflicts, but that the EU must constantly re-adjust its policies depending on the dynamics of each conflict. Their findings reveal the conditions upon which the impact of integration rests and challenge the widespread notion that integration is necessarily good for peace. This book will appeal to scholars and students of international relations, European politics, and security studies studying European integration and conflict analysis.

This book offers an in-depth investigation into the digitisation processes of Europe’s border regime. It shows how sociotechnical imaginations of future borders drive forward the expansion of databases in the European governance of mobility. With a focus on the European Union Agency eu-LISA, one of the most significant and rapidly advancing actors in the digital border regime, the book serves as a gateway to understanding the key agents, visions, technologies and practices at work. Asking broader questions about exclusion, discrimination, violence and mobility rights, this is an original contribution to our understanding of future borders in Europe.

The EU’s internal borders have become mostly invisible. Today, external borders are at the centre of controversy about an alleged 'fortress Europe'. Using different theoretical and methodological perspectives this book examines the challenges facing the EU’s external borders, including Neighborhood Policy, migration issues and the diffusion of norms and values to other countries. Divided into two parts, the book first presents different theoretical approaches and empirical studies of the EU’s external borders, mobility and security issues. It is an invaluable guide to border research within a framework of European Integration and Globalization Studies. The second part of this volume focuses on the analyses of the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy, the approach to Eastern Europe and EU energy policy. Expert contributors collaborate to explore debates about migration, the EU as a normative, 'civil' power, energy security and the securitization of borders. Highly relevant and insightful, the text provides a timely assessment of EU borders in an increasingly globalized and integrated European neighbourhood. The EU's Shifting Borders will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union Politics and International Relations.

Borders define territories within which identities and order are described and delineated. The triptych of indentities, borders and orders is central to understanding the nature of sovereignty and the relations between countries. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the European Union. The changing definition and placement of the border is one of the most striking features of the recent transformations of the Union. The definition of what a border is and where it is for persons has moved out of the territory of national sovereignty and has become the preserve in law of the European Community. The enlargement of the European Union towards the countries of Central and Eastern Europe has created new challenges for the concept of borders in the EU. This volume examines the extent of the Community power and the legal meaning of the EU's borders, as well as the ways to control (or not) the movement of persons across borders. It considers the legal texts - EC law on visas, the Regulations on visas, the meaning of borders for persons in Community Law, the Schengen acquis and its incorporation into the EC Treaty (and where appropriate the TEU); national practice and its transformation with the insertion of the private sector's responsibility for the control of borders and judicial control. The point of departure is the perspective of the individual who is seeking to cross these borders.

Research on European governance is central to understanding both the process of European integration and its external influence as a laboratory for multilateralism. This volume focuses on the impact of the recent Eurozone crisis and its far-reaching implications for European governance both inside and outside the EU borders. Ideal for classroom use, this volume covers: I. European modes of governance: concepts, recent trends and international implications with chapters by Lefkofridi & Schmitter, Cini, Borrs and Radaelli. II. The transformation of European economic governance with contributions by Fabbrini, Stoffaës, Collignon, Eising, Rasch and Rozbicka. III. The transformation of European social policy governance with Goetschy, Hemerijck, de la Porte and Heins. IV. The international implications of the transformation of EU governance highlighted by Rodrigues, Xiarchogiannopoulou and Mügge.