The Immigration Regulation and Control Problem of the European Union

Year 2022, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 471 - 484, 30.12.2022

Osman Karacan Yunus Emre Karaca

https://doi.org/10.33399/biibfad.1191495

Abstract

After World War Two, Western Europe states started to receive migrants to fill labour shortages. With the end of the Cold War, the flow of immigrants to Europe accelerated, and the issue of immigration became one of the most important topics on the European Union’s agenda by the 2000s. In this context, this study seeks to answer whether European states have lost their immigration control. This study aims to clarify the internal and external reasons that adversely affect the capacity of European states to control immigration, focusing primarily on the developments since 1945. The immigration policies of the European Union (EU) are also discussed in this context. This study employed the qualitative research methodology. In the study, academic books and articles were used besides online newspapers and the official documents prepared by the EU. The study's findings demonstrate that although European states have not entirely lost their control over immigration, their current immigration policies are insufficient to stop the flow of immigration to Europe.

Keywords

European Union, EU, Immigration, Immigration Policy, Crisis, Border Control

Avrupa Birliği’nin Göçü Düzenlenme ve Kontrol Sorunu

Abstract

İkinci Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra Batı Avrupa ülkeleri iş gücü açığını kapatmak için göçmen almaya başlamıştır. Soğuk Savaş’ın sona ermesiyle birlikte Avrupa’ya göçmen akışı hız kazanmış ve göç konusu 2000’li yıllara gelindiğinde Avrupa Birliği’nin en önemli gündem konularından biri haline gelmiştir. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışma Avrupa ülkelerinin göç kontrolünü kaybedip kaybetmediği sorusuna cevap aramaktadır. Çalışma, özellikle Avrupa devletlerinin göçü kontrol etme kapasitelerini olumsuz etkileyen iç ve dış nedenleri 1945 yılından günümüze kadar yaşanan gelişmeler ışığında açıklığa kavuşturmayı amaçlamaktadır. Avrupa Birliği’nin (AB) göç politikaları da bu kapsamda ele alınmaktadır. Bu çalışmada nitel araştırma yöntemine başvurulmuştur. Araştırmada AB tarafından hazırlanan resmi belgelerin yanı sıra gazete ve İnternet haberlerinden, akademik kitaplar ve makalelerden yararlanılmıştır. Çalışmanın bulguları göstermektedir ki Avrupa ülkeleri göç üzerindeki kontrolünü tamamen kaybetmemiş olsa da mevcut göç politikaları Avrupa’ya göç akışını durdurmada yetersiz kalmaktadır.

Keywords

Avrupa Birliği, AB, Göç, Göç Politikası, Kriz, Sınır Kontrolü

References

• Adolino, J. R. & Blake, C. H. (2011). Comparing Public Policies: Issues and Choices in Industrialized States. 2nd Edition, Washington, DC: CQ Press.
• BBC (2015). Europe Fund to Tackle African Migration ‘not enough’. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34797715 (Accessed: 14 July 2022).
• BBC (2017). Erdogan Threatens to Scrap EU-Turkey Migrant Deal. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39294776 (Accessed: 12 November 2022).
• BBC News Europe (2013). EU Beefs Up Migrant Surveillance in Mediterranean. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24481781 (Accessed: 11 July 2022).
• Boswell, C. & Geddes, A. (2011). Migration and Mobility in the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
• Connor, P. & Passel J. S. (2019). Europe’s Unauthorized Immigrant Population Peaks in 2016, Then Levels Off. https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/11/13/europes-unauthorized-immigrant-population-peaks-in-2016-then-levels-off/ (Accessed: 05 July 2022).
• Croft, A. & Pawlak, J. (2013). EU Struggles to Find United Response to Lampedusa Tragedy. Brussels: REUTERS. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/09/us-italy-migrants-eu-idUSBRE9980UJ20131009 (Accessed: 05 July 2022).
• Euractiv (2013). EU Ministers Discuss Burden-Sharing for Syrian Refugees, Africant Migrants. http://www.euractiv.com/justice/syrian-refugees-african-migrants-news-530952 (Accessed: 04 July 2022).
• European Commission (2015). A European Agenda on Migration. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2020-09/communication_on_the_european_agenda_on_migration_en.pdf (Accessed: 13 July 2022).
• European Commission (2015). Managing Migration Better in All Aspects: A European Agenda on Migration. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_15_4956 (Accessed: 28 June 2022).
• European Commission (2018). Standard Eurobarometer 89 – Spring 2018. https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/2180 (Accessed: 25 June 2022).
• European Commission (2019). Report from The Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Implementation of the Directive 2003/86/EC on the Right to Family Reunification. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52019DC0162#footnote3 (Accessed: 02 July 2022).
• European Council (2015). Council Establishes EU Naval Operation to Disrupt Human Smugglers in the Mediterranean. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/05/18/council-establishes-naval-operations-disrupt-human-smugglers-mediterannean/ (Accessed: 15 July 2022).
• European Council (2015). Council Launches EU Naval Operation to Disrupt Human Smugglers and Traffickers in the Mediterranean. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/06/22/fac-naval-operation/ (Accessed: 15 July 2022).
• European Council (2015). Valletta Summit on Migration, 11-12 November 2015. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2015/11/11-12/ (Accessed: 14 July 2022).
• European Council (2016). EU-Turkey Statement, 18 March 2016. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/03/18/eu-turkey-statement/ (Accessed: 14 July 2022).
• European Council (2022). Saving Lives at Sea and Targeting Criminal Networks (Background Information). https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-migration-policy/saving-lives-sea/ (Accessed: 16 July 2022).
• Eurostat (2007). Asylum Applications in the European Union. Brussels. Statistics in Focus 110/2007. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3433488/5285137/KS-SF-07-110-EN.PDF/c95cc2ce-b50c-498e-95fb-cd507ef29e27 (Accessed: 03 July 2022).
• Eurostat (2022). Annual Asylum Statistics. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Asylum_statistics&oldid=558844#Number_of_asylum_applicants:_increase_in_2021 (Accessed: 03 July 2022).
• Freeman, G. P. (1995). Modes of immigration politics in liberal democratic states. International Migration Review, 29(4), pp. 881–902.
• FRONTEX (2022). EU External Borders in 2021: Arrivals Above Pre-Pandemic Levels. https://frontex.europa.eu/media-centre/news/news-release/eu-external-borders-in-2021-arrivals-above-pre-pandemic-levels-CxVMNN (Accessed: 07 July 2022).
• Hampshire, J. (2013). The Politics of Immigration. Cambridge: Polity Press.
• Hansen, R. (2007). Migration Policy. In Hay, C. & Menon, A., European Politics, New York: Oxford UP, pp. 329–345.
• IOM UN Migration (2022). World Migration Report 2022. https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/wmr-2022-interactive/ (Accessed: 25 June 2022).
• Joppke, C. (1998). “Why Liberal States Accept Unwanted Immigration”, World Politics, 50(2), pp. 266–293.
• Morehouse, C. & Blomfield, M. (2011). Irregular Migration in Europe.Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.
• Nguyen, D. Q. (2017). Which European States Attract the Most Immigrants? https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/migration-series_europe-s-immigration-balance-sheet/42495760 (Accessed: 28 June 2022).
• Rankin, J. (2017a). EU ‘Running Out of Money’ to Stop Migrants Travelling from Africa. Brussels: The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/20/eu-running-out-of-money-stop-migrants-travelling-africa (Accessed: 12 November 2022).
• Rankin, J. (2017b). $2bn EU-Africa ‘anti immigration’ fund too Opaque, Say Critics. Brussels: The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/oct/31/2bn-eu-africa-anti-migration-fund-too-opaque-say-critics (Accessed: 12 November 2022).
• Sales, R. (2007). Understanding Immigration and Refugee Policy: Contradiction and Continuities. Bristol: The Policy Press.