Matteo Quattrocchi
(Researcher at the European Institute for Asian Studies in Brussels. He holds an Italian Master’s Degree in Law and an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from the Georgetown University Law Center, specializing in International and National Security and the Law of the Sea.)
Copyright: www.rieas.gr
As the media attention on the October tragedy off the coast of Lampedusa subsides, the European Union’s (EU) consideration of the Southern Mediterranean (SouthMed) immigration crisis seems to follow suit. Despite the repeated calls for help by Southern European leaders, and the repeated reports of an increasingly dire situation on the southern border of the Union, the institution as a whole seems unable or unwilling to reconsider its stance on immigration and asylum policies.
The current European Union framework
The EU has established a border agency, FRONTEX, with the purpose of “[supporting], [coordinating] and [developing] European border management in line with the EU fundamental rights charter”, hoping to pool together capabilities and resources in an improved monitoring of its boundaries. However, border control is an integral part of a State’s national security, which is among the most “protected” interests for EU Member States. In other words, many Member States would rather just formally participate to FRONTEX, while retaining much of their own resources and capabilities at the national level, for better control of their own national security...... Read more