Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89017
Title: An evaluation of the EU's reaction to the migratory flows during the 2011 North Africa unrest
Authors: Borg, Liliana (2012)
Keywords: Illegal aliens
Democracy -- Malta
European Union countries
Issue Date: 2012
Citation: Borg, L. (2002). An evaluation of the EU's reaction to the migratory flows during the 2011 North Africa unrest (Bachelor's dissertation).
Abstract: The Arab Springs which took place in North Africa in the early months of 2011 have had significant migratory repercussions. Thousands of migrants living in these countries sought protection from the erupting wars by sailing across the Mediterranean Sea. This notable influx of migrants had a veritable impact on the Southern European Union (EU) Member States, which led to the EU taking action to control the situation. This dissertation seeks to portray the 2011 North African unrest as well as the resulting migratory flows through the Central Mediterranean route. By compiling statistics both from the EU and from other leading migratory institutions, this dissertation gives a factual overview of what occurred in the Mediterranean Sea during the first half of 2011. Furthermore, many EU statements are analysed in order to dissect what the EU has said and proposed both in the short-term and in the long-term. In the short-term, the EU's reaction encompassed the supply of financial aid and the initiation of the Joint Operation Hermes 2011 under the surveillance of both the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the EU (more commonly known as Frontex) and Italy. In this regard, the principle of solidarity and burden-sharing established in the EU acquis is also examined. In most cases, it seems that when there is such an extraoi:dinary situation, this principle is ignored by most EU Member States, which in turn angers the Member States mostly in need of support. This solidarity principle has, in fact, received criticism from the countries mostly hit by the influx of immigrants, most particularly from Italy. This criticism was also voiced by international agencies working in favour of the protection of migrants and human rights, including Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This outstanding influx of migrants also served to bring about proposals for long-term solutions. The EU has emphasized the need to enhance its migration policy, with the implementation of projects such as a new Common European Asylum System and a European Border Surveillance System. This dissertation argues that while the amount of migrants arriving at the Southern European shores was alarming, the crisis at hand was not particularly an emergency situation because statistics show that there was no radical change in figures of migrants arriving in Europe from 2010 to 2011. However, it is also noted that this shock response could be justified due to the large numbers of migrants all arriving in a matter of weeks. Nevertheless, such shock response need not automatically translate into an emergency situation. The dissertation also argues that the EU could have reacted better to the situation and that its Member States should have expressed more solidarity with the Mediterranean Member States. Finally, the dissertation attempts to predict what would happen if a similar immigration crisis erupted in the near future and whether or not the EU would react in the same manner as in 2011.
Description: B.A.(HONS)EUR.STUD.
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/89017
Appears in Collections:Dissertations - InsEUS - 1996-2017

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