{"id":31746,"date":"2017-05-09T11:00:52","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T01:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=31746"},"modified":"2017-05-09T11:05:46","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T01:05:46","slug":"border-security-lessons-fractured-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/border-security-lessons-fractured-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Border security: lessons from a fractured Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

Brexit, and the US presidential election result, provided tangible evidence that migration and border security policies are becoming increasingly politicised in Western democracies. Public policy dialogue on migration and border security has become ever more polarised into a zero sum game in which debates on both issues descend into a binary \u2018secure\u2019 or \u2018insecure\u2019 ultimatum.<\/p>\n

Today, ASPI\u2019s Border Security Program is releasing two reports (Fractured Europe: the Schengen Area and European border security<\/em><\/a> and Drawing border security lessons from Europe\u2019s Schengen experiences<\/em><\/a>) that have been developed to broaden the depth of this dialogue through a case study of Schengen.<\/p>\n

Described as \u2018one of the major achievements of European integration\u2019, and once seen as a model for the future, the Schengen Area is at a critical point in its history. The simultaneous crises of irregular migration and terrorism have each placed unprecedented pressure on open borders and the free movement of people, goods and services and made border security a political priority for the European Union nations.<\/p>\n

Established in 1995, the Schengen Area is a 4,312,099 square kilometre \u2018zone\u2019 embracing 26 European nations and around 420\u00a0million people, which abolished border controls to allow the free and unrestricted movement of people, goods, services and capital. Those controls were replaced with common rules for controlling external borders and fighting criminality with a common judicial system and strong police cooperation.<\/p>\n

The Special Report Fractured Europe: the Schengen Area <\/em>examines why member states are resorting to national over collective action in their response to the current challenges. A picture emerges of a Europe in which Brussels has struggled to maintain the security of the external EU border while national capitals prioritise the security of their own borders.<\/p>\n

In the context of growing national populism, efforts to achieve solidarity in the face of common challenges haven\u2019t been forthcoming. Ultimately, the EU needs a European agenda on border security and consensus from member states on its outcomes.<\/p>\n

The Strategic Insights report, Drawing border security lessons from Europe\u2019s Schengen experiences<\/em>, argues that those responsible for Schengen\u2019s external border security face impossible expectations that they can manage extraordinary challenges, such as 2016\u2019s mass migration surge, without additional resources and powers.<\/p>\n

The report provides observations and recommendations based on the Schengen experience for Australian border security policymakers, including the following:<\/p>\n