Security, markets and power: the relationship between EU enlargement and immigration

Abstract:

This article examines EU strategies concerning immigration within the framework of Eastern enlargement and argues that EU migration policies have, in fact, hindered efforts to combat clandestine migration. It contends that enlargement should not present a significant threat to the Union’s external borders but, instead, may actually create new opportunities to reduce human smuggling and human trafficking on the continent. Contrary to the rhetoric utilised by many West European leaders and citizens, the new EU member states are currently feeling migration pressures similar to those in the previous member states and their policy objectives actually mirror those found in Western Europe. They have become transit countries rather than sending countries. Because EU enlargement entails political and socio-economic development, it actually provides a more suitable strategy for the management of migration than simple border controls.