Migration, Border Control and EU Immigration Agreements with Third Countries

The migrations of 2015 to Europe have resulted in the (temporary) collapse of the border and migration regimes of the European Union (EU). Due to massive flows of migrants and refugees across the European borders, the institutions of the EU and the Member States reacted with improvisation and driven by national electoral pressures, displacing the fundamentals of joint action in migration policies. Solidarity as one of the fundamentals of the European integration process has disappeared due to nationalist and populist reactions to the crisis. Coordination and mutual trust between the members of the EU have not been restored, but the numbers of migrants has been reduced due to more effective controls and agreements with priority states in the European neighborhood.