The EU Member States’ Border Restriction Versus COVID-19

Friedery, Réka (2021) The EU Member States’ Border Restriction Versus COVID-19. REVIEW OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, 5 (2). ISSN 2544-6703

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Abstract

Since February 2020, a number of EU Member States and Schengen associated countries have declared emergencies and introduced epidemiological measures. These included restrictions on freedom of movement: border closures, temporary internal border controls or temporary bans on all non-essential travel. The author argues that since the Member States had recently used border restrictions to restrict the (visible) migration, border restriction as means fighting the (invisible) pandemic is only another precedent on behalf of Member States’ unwillingness to preserve freedom of movement when it contradicts internal policies, and underlines the need for Schengen’s reform. The article argues that although justifying derogations from the principles of border-free area is in the hand of the Member States, the lack of coordination has created the exact the same situation as during the migration crisis. Though the reintroduced border restrictions of 2015 targeted irregular migrants, the present ones affected EU citizens, too. The research aims to analyze the means and margins that the situation created by the pandemic contrasts to the restrictive border measures introduced during the migration crisis. The final research objective is to emphasize the need for cooperation in this policy field and the need of an integrated approach.

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