The institutional dimension of the protection of the external borders of the European Union in the context of the security of the Member States

Grzegorz Balawajder

Uniwersytet Opolski, Instytut Politologii
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9397-4095

Abstract

The European Union is a space within which the freedom of movement of citizens is exercised and expressed through the freedom of travel, work, studying, or living in a chosen country of the Union. The exercise of this freedom occurred as a result of the abolition of controls at the internal borders of the Union. The European Union, thanks to the inclusion of the Schengen Agreement and the Executive Convention into the EU law, has created institutions and measures for the protection of external borders (European Border and Coast Guard Agency, European Patrols Network, Rapid Border Intervention Teams, European Border Surveillance System) in terms of ensuring security for Member States and their citizens. The current migration crisis is a major verification for the evaluation of the effectiveness of these institutions and in this respect indicates the importance of adequate protection of external borders for the security of the Union’s states and their citizens. The aim of the article is to analyze the problem of the functioning of institutions and other measures ensuring protection of the European Union’s external borders in terms of guaranteeing the security of its states in the context of contemporary challenges. Until the emergence of the migration crisis, there was a conviction that the European Union had created institutional and operational conditions for effective ensuring of security of its borders.

Keywords:

Schengen Agreement, Schengen Borders Code, Frontex, European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Integrated Border Management Policy, Eurosur