Izvorni znanstveni članak
Harmonisation of European Migration Policies: The Failure of Immigration Control Policies in the Seventh and Eighth Decades of the 20th Century
Milan Mesić
Sažetak
Until the middle of the 1970s, the migration policies of developed European countries were based on the assumption that controlling immigration was possible. Due to various reasons discussed in this article, such policies proved unsuccessful. The result was an increase in the total number of foreigners and a change in the composition of immigrant communities, i.e. the proportion of supported family members increased. During the 1980s there was increasing convergence in the migration policies of European immigration countries and traditional overseas emigration countries. Policies were more and more oriented towards preventing illegal migration flows, on regulating refugee flows and on balancing labour migration with family migration. The turning-point in the direction of “harmonising” West European migration policies was marked by the Schengen agreement (1985) on gradual elimination of border controls between the signing parties (France, Germany and the Benelux countries). Fear in the face of a possible invasion of Eastern Europeans after the collapse of socialism in 1989 was a further strong stimulus towards the harmonisation of migration policies in the developing EU. As opposed to migration control, the integration of immigrants has remained so far the prerogative of nation-states. The text further presents an overview of migration policy reforms in individual member states of the EU and of multilateral actions. The post-1989 migration regime in Europe has four major traits: 1) an extension of the agenda; 2) an accent on joint actions; 3) defensiveness; 4) confusion and an overload of issues. While on the one hand the EU continues to seek ways of protecting itself from undesired external migration, on the other hand the process of regional integration continues to “erase” its internal borders.
Ključne riječi
migration; migration policy; migration control; integration; harmonisation; European Union
Hrčak ID:
7847
URI
Datum izdavanja:
27.12.2003.
Posjeta: 3.594 *