Suchergebnisse

Southern European countries, especially those which are EU members, share similar migration histories, being traditionally countries of emigration but now having to deal with large numbers of immigrants, many of whom arrive via irregular channels facilitated by smugglers, or enter by legitimate means as tourists and then overstay. This paper introduces a special issue of this journal on the theme of irregular migration. It starts by recounting the implications of the recent (October 2013) Lampedusa tragedy. The remainder of the paper is in three parts. We first explore the flexible concept of irregular migration, including questions of definition and migration policy – especially the policy of regularisation, which has been widespread in the four largest Southern EU states. Next, we describe what has been called the 'Southern European Model of Migration' and its constituent elements and theoretical foundations, a key part of which is the dynamic interrelationship between irregular migration and the informal economy. Finally, we introduce the six papers that follow, highlighting their key findings and significant research contributions.

"The multiple crises of the First two decades of the 21st century had a great impact on the European Union. As a result, a thorough reflection on the design of the European model is required and a reassessment of its goals is needed. This paper argues that differentiated integration describes best the current model of European integration and that it is favourable for creating, on long-term, a more united Europe. After explaining what the 'European model' stands for, the paper analyses the impact of the crises on the European economic governance framework - as the most decisively challenged dimension of the model - and presents some scenarios for the immediate ,future development of the European model of integration." (publisher's description)