The Nijmegen Centre for Border Research, University of Nijmegen organises an international workshop on

“Global Migration and European Union's Policy Interventions”

This workshop is part of a workshop-series organized by "GLOMIG" (acronym of: Global Migration from the Eastern Mediterranean and Eurasia: Security and Human Rights Challenges to Europe), funded by the European Union through its 6th framework research programme. For more information please visit the website www.kora.metu.edu.tr/glomig/

Oktober 20-21

Nijmegen, The Netherlands

CONTENT

While globalization encourages free movement of capital, goods and services, there is no government (yet) that has a policy for free movement of persons. Most governments are intervening in this potentially free movement of persons through biopolitical policies in terms of border controls, admission, administration and regulation. This is also the case in the European Union. Over time, but especially since the opening of the Internal Market, the European Union has ‘modernised’ its immigration policies, specifically focussing on containing asylum, fighting illegal migration, and extending European migration policy onto countries of origin and transit. Moreover, development aid is increasingly tied to agreements obligating to take back illegal migrants, and non-EU states are being encouraged to control emigration more firmly. Furthermore, as part of the European Neighbourhood Program (ENP), practically all countries bordering the European Union are financially sponsored to reinforce their border controls. The result of this renewed border regime has been an intensified closing, fortifying and policing of the external borders of the European Union. In return, by restricting the lawful access to the EU the flow of illegal workers, from agricultural labourers to prostitutes, has increased considerably, increasingly leading to dangerous attempts to enter the EU and to dramatic circumstances in overcrowded refugee camps. At the same time however, in contrast with this policy of closure for some immigrants from outside the European Union, the borders of member states in the European Union are increasingly selectively opened up for various migrant workers from non-EU countries in order to bypass a growing scarcity of temporary as well as permanent labour in these member states. This need for more economic immigration in the immediate future has recently been communicated overtly by the European Commission. The question is how we should evaluate this current bifurcated EU intervention policy against the background of global migrations trends and patterns and what the near future will be with regard to this global-EU nexus in migration. To this end, this 1st workshop of GLOMIG aims to create a platform to discuss this issue with various participants from the EU and INCO countries, ranging from NGO's, governments and academia.

THEMES

The following themes will be discussed in this workshop:

- Global migration trends, routes and movements
- Global/European challenges
- Open vs. Closed Borders
- Degrees of openness and citizenship rights
- EU refugee and asylum policies
- External border policing and politics of the EU
- EU selective admission policies
- Future of Global-EU nexus in migration

PROGRAMME

Day 1: Presentation of two full papers:
Jonathan Seglow: "European Borders and the Justification of Migrant Admissions" (Abstract)

Henk van Houtum: "Migrants, Borders and Access: EU's biopolitics of fear and comfort protection" (Abstract)

* Short statements of the participants
* Round-Table Discussion

HOST

The Nijmegen Centre for Border Research (NCBR), University of Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

LOCATION

Huize Heyendaal
Geert Grooteplein Noord 9
Po Box 9103
6500 HD Nijmegen
Website of Huize Heyendaal

CONTACT

Project Partners may send suggestions to the directors of the Nijmegen Centre for Border Research:

Dr. Henk van Houtum
Dr. Martin van der Velde

Nijmegen Centre for Border Research
Radboud University Nijmegen
Thomas van Aquinostraat 3
P.O. Box 9108, 6500 HK Nijmegen
Tel: +31-(0)24-3612725
Fax: +31(0)24-3611841
Email: ncbr@fm.ru.nl
www.ru.nl/ncbr