Migration policies and digital technologies in Europe: a comparison between Italy and Spain

Abstract:

This paper analyses the connection between European migration policies and digital technologies, with a look at the significant changes that have affected the formation and meaning of borders on the continent. Particular attention is paid to the primary digital surveillance systems (SIS II, VIS, EURODAC) in Italy and Spain, importantly ‘Europe’s gatekeepers’ over the last decade.

The results of the research contradict the thesis that there is persistence non-compliance with surveillance systems in the Southern European member states, and also highlight important areas of divergence between the two countries’ migration policy pathways.