Description
Migration flows have been at the epicentre of political interest for quite some time. The latest developments in the geopolitical arena, in particular the war in Syria and the displaced populations, in conjunction with the instrumentalisation of migration as a diplomatic tool by states, necessitate an informed research agenda on this particular subject. According to the UNHCR by June 2019 70.8 million individuals, out of which 25.4 refugees, were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution and conflicts. 60% of all arrivals towards Europe were registered via the Eastern Mediterranean route in Cyprus, Bulgaria and Greece and 29% of individuals have arrived via the Western Mediterranean route to Spain and the remaining 11% crossed the Central Mediterranean and arrived by sea in Italy and Malta. The developing influx of migrants and refugees to Greece, part of the increased migration movement towards the Western world and especially Europe, creates a thought-provoking ever-changing map for exploration and analysis in academia and in policy making.
The way that the EU has been handling the migratory and refugee flows and has addressed essentially a humanitarian crisis has brought to the forefront issues of solidarity within the EU. Burden-sharing and cooperation have been raised as serious issues by countries like Greece, Spain and Italy, which do not trust the other EU member states regarding the reception of migrants and refugees. These developments seriously undermine the cohesion and the credibility of the EU, and very importantly there is lack of an organised management of the migration and refugee flows.
At the same time securitisation of migration that is translated to the necessity of taking extraordinary measures in the name of security, is the main modus operandi of the EU migration management system. The intensification and militarisation of border controls in the Mediterranean, the operation of military forces, the use of ‘extraordinary measures’ and the expansion of detention centres consist of the new EU migration management map. Along with the tightening and biometricisation of border controls, externalisation of migration has been one of the major routes for the EU to handle the issue. This means ‘distancing’ the problem and shifting responsibility to third countries.
The purpose of this paper is to look into the migratory and refugee flows through the prism of securitisation, and to particularly focus on two elements that characterise the EU’s migration management, i.e. the absence of burden-sharing and the externalisation of migration. The case of Greece, as an entry point is going to be used in order to exemplify the EU practices at the European borders.
