The EU migration policy securitization process: From a domestic to a foreign dimension

Abstract

This article addresses the foreign policy strategies of the European Union (EU) after the 2015 refugee crisis. It investigates to what extent the EU migration policy is part of the European foreign policy. The paper outlines that the migration policy was not prepared for collective action failure at the domestic level, and, in order to overcome it, it is transferred to the external dimension of the EU. It argues that migration, previously considered being part of the state's domestic affairs, transformed from an issue of domestic policy to the foreign one. Thus, the authors study the interconnection between migration and security as a key element for understanding this "foreignization" process. The development of close cooperation with third countries in the field of migration regulation has become one of the priorities of the overall migration policy of the European Union. However, the EU has not gained much success, and the migration crisis even more clearly indicated the need to develop an external dimension to the management of migration processes, but in a more pragmatic approach that would ensure the EU's security interests. The basis for the external dimension of EU migration policy is relations with third countries and linking development assistance with security and border protection issues. The paper analyses EU parliamentary debates before and after the 2015 refugee crisis; by doing so, the interconnection between migration and security is assessed, leading to a further understanding of the EU migration "foreignization process".