Schengen and European Borders: An Introduction to the Special Section

Abstract

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2024 9(1), 153-156 | Article | (Abstract) The functioning of the Schengen area and, more broadly, of European external borders, have been under considerable strain due to increased migration flows, the COVID-19 pandemic and security threats. These developments have tested Member States’ and EU agencies’ compliance with EU rules and principles, and the viability of the EU migration, asylum and border control policies. The future is equally challenging and will be marked by the reform EU migration, asylum and border control policies, with the recent adoption of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and the amendment of the Schengen Borders Code. The nine Articles – by Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen and William Hamilton Byrne, Violeta Moreno-Lax, Jorrit J. Rijpma and Henriet Baas, Niovi Vavoula, Věra Honusková and Enes Zaimović, Luisa Marin, Matija Kontak, Ana Kršinić and the editor, Iris Goldner Lang – contained within this Special Section, offer a contemporary and rich study of Schengen and European borders against the backdrop of recent challenges and future perspectives. They cast a new look on both the legal and political context of Schengen by discussing its infrastructure, Schengen accessions, externalisation, protection of migrants’ and asylum seekers’ rights, as well as the use of modern technologies at the EU’s external borders.

Keywords

• schengen
• migration
• asylum
• border controls
• fundamental rights
• modern technologies