Out of sight, out of mind. Holding migrants at bay in the Mediterranean

Abstract

The proposed 2017 EU-Libya agreement to prevent migrants from crossing over to Europe triggered the analysis in this paper concerning migration across the Euro-Mediterranean region with specific reference to Malta. We argue that this position of keeping migrants at arms length (out of sight and out of mind) from the heart of Europe makes any concept of a formal Social Europe (we recognise a different social politics from below) sound hollow. The main contention is that there can be no formal Social Europe unless it exists in solidarity with a Social World - a ‘Fortress Europe' is no Social Europe at all. This applies to the interrelated issues of who can enter and who is barred from entering Europe, and who, among those residing in this continent, can enjoy the advantages of citizenship and who is denied them; in short, who is allowed to live in a dignified manner and who is omitted from the index of human concerns.