ABSTRACT
In Europe, despite the fact that the implementation of a common migratory policy is still far from being achieved, the outlook of public policy responses to migration from third-country nationals (TCNs) has accredited the idea of the creation of the so-called ‘Fortress Europe’, i.e. an area where internal mobility is promoted while barriers are erected vis-à-vis countries outside the EU. 1 The origins of ‘Fortress Europe’ have been traced back by scholars to the Council regulation 1612/68, which distinguished between the right of free movement of nationals of Member States and the right of free movement of nationals of third countries. 2 The establishment of the freedom of movement for EU citizens has only exacerbated this divide. This was initiated by the Single European Act in 1986 and brought forward by the ‘EU citizenship’ provisions of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. TCNs' rights of access to the EU were, on the other hand, progressively but steadily restricted. The consequences of the adoption of this extremely tight approach to migration from third countries, at both the EU and national level, 3 have been an increase of irregular migration and the progressive ‘securitisation’ of migration. By ‘securitisation’, the experts mean the development of migration into a ‘security issue’, which has to be managed by security agencies such as, for example, Europol. 4
