Refugee Crisis and Migrations at the Gates of Europe: Deterritoriality, Extraterritoriality and Externalization of Border Controls

• Author: Alejandro del Valle-Gálvez
• Position: Full Professor (Catedrático) of Public International Law, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair on Migration and Borders in EU Law, University of Cádiz. Director of the ?Migration and Human Rights in Europe's External Borders' Centre of Excellence. Article written within the framework of the R&D project España, seguridad y fronteras exteriores...
• Pages: 117-160

PAIX ET SÉCURITÉ INTERNATIONALES

Journal of International Law and International Relations

Num 7, janvier-décembre 2019 | ISSN 2341-0868

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2019.i7.04

Paix et Securité Internationales

ISSN 2341-0868, Num. 7, janvier-décembre 2019, pp. 117-160

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2019.i7.04

REFUGEE CRISIS AND MIGRATIONS AT THE GATES OF

EUROPE: DETERRITORIALITY, EXTRATERRITORIALITY AND

EXTERNALIZATION OF BORDER CONTROLS

Alejandro DEL VALLE-GÁLVEZ1

I. - INTRODUCTION. II. - THE BORDERS AND GATES OF EUROPE. III. -

VULNERABILITY OF THE EUROPEAN BORDERS? IV.-‘EXTERNALIZATION’,

‘EXTRATERRITORIALITY’ AND ‘DETERRITORIALITY’ OF MIGRATION

CONTROL. V. - CONCLUSIONS

ABSTRACT: The refugee crisis has shaped a new perception of the migration reality in Europe.

The ramif‌i cations of its impact on European integration are visible and enduring. The EU’s respon-

se has included a certain strategic perspective, albeit weighed down by an excess of eurocentrism

and a security perception that does not take third countries’ interests into balanced account. The ma-

jor economic e ort being made supports a far-reaching strategy, only now beginning to be outlined,

to promote economic development in the countries of origin and transit of migrants. Additionally,

issues such as the monitoring of respect for migrants’ human rights have not yet been suitably glo-

bally def‌i ned in this strategy.

Although the behaviour and response capacity of the EU and its Member States can be assessed

in di erent ways, the truth is that the migration debate has decisively swayed a block of countries

that are openly reluctant to engage in intra-European solidarity and accept the new realities and

responsibilities entailed by the refugees already present and yet to come to Europe. This position

is very negative in the medium and long term, since, as noted, the crisis has also underscored the

permanence of migration trends and f‌l ows and the consolidation of the routes or gates of entry to

Europe.

This contribution considers the vulnerability of the European borders designed and in operation

in the Schengen Area. The internal borders were the most a ected at the start of the migration crisis

and are likely to be marked by current regulatory changes, which tend to allow exceptionality as

a relatively common occurrence in the European ‘federal’ area of free movement. Nevertheless,

the resilience of this system of the absence of internal border controls in the ‘federal’ area of free

movement is undeniable.

1 Full Professor (Catedrático) of Public International Law, holder of the Jean Monnet Chair

on Migration and Borders in EU Law, University of Cádiz. Director of the ‘Migration and

Human Rights in Europe’s External Borders’ Centre of Excellence. Article written within

the framework of the R&D project España, seguridad y fronteras exteriores europeas en el área del

Estrecho [Spain, security and European external borders in the area of the Strait], DER2015-

68174-R (PIs: A. del Valle and I. González), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy

and Competitiveness and the ERDF.

Citation: VALLE GÁLVEZ, A. del, «Refugee Crisis and Migrations at the Gates of Europe: Deterritoriality,

Extraterritoriality and Externalization of Border Controls», Paix et Sécurité Internationales, num. 7, 2019, pp. 117-160

Received: 11 October 2019

Accepted: 15 November 2019

Refugee Crisis and Migrations at the Gates of Europe: Deterritoriality, Extraterritoriality and Externalization of

Border Controls

Paix et Securité Internationales

ISSN 2341-0868, Num. 7, janvier-décembre 2019, pp. 117-160

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2019.i7.04

The impact on the EU’s external borders has been even greater, as it has shown once and for all

that, more than fragile or vulnerable, some border controls, such as the sea border ones, are not

practicable, especially those on Europe’s southern sea borders.

It is precisely this infeasibility of border control in marine areas that leads to the accentuation of

certain trends on Europe’s external borders, such as the externalization of migration controls. New

regulatory and strategic planning developments conf‌i rm this trend, as well as the current concern

for deploying an integrated external border management system.

With regard to the phenomenon known as the ‘externalization’ of migration controls, the litera-

ture considers it to refer to EU actions aimed at reducing, sorting and controlling migration f‌l ows

with the consent of third states in relations that are, by def‌i nition, asymmetrical. This article has

addressed the di erent situations that arise, highlighting the advisability of di erentiating between

externalizing migration policy, on the one hand, and extraterritorial action concerning migration

control, on the other.

In search of greater conceptual accuracy, the term ‘deterritoriality’ has been used, as it is more

neutral than the other terms mentioned insofar as it evokes the idea of positioning outside the te-

rritory certain border control and migration policy functions, to be carried out by other states or

by the state itself. Since these are situations and actions linked to migration and border control,

they should be conceptually situated outside the territory; the deterritoriality option hypothetically

makes it possible to encompass both the externalization and the extraterritoriality of border control

functions concerning migration.

To this end, this article has focused on the various notions and activities that might be discussed

in relation to the ‘externalization’ and the ‘extraterritoriality’ of migration controls and border func-

tions, terms that, in sum, refer to migration control and management activities outside the territory,

carried out by public o cials of the EU states or by third states.

On the one hand, externalization is considered to refer to the management and control of mi-

gration f‌l ows, the activities of adopting agreements, programmes, action plans and measures to

encourage third states to monitor their own borders and migration f‌l ows in order to control, restrict

or impede physical access to the territory of the EU states, accepting the placement in their territory,

or the rejection, of refugees and migrants from other states. It does not involve the presence of or

direct exercise of control activities by public o cials of the EU Member States. In fact, outside

European territory it is highly debatable that states are strictly performing border control functions,

as it is an area that may more accurately fall within the more generic f‌i eld of migration f‌l ow control

linked to migration policy and European external action.

On the other hand, extraterritorialization is understood to entail the performance of border con-

trol functions by states themselves outside their own territory. This case should involve the presence

of or exercise by Member State public o cials of some (e ective) border control activities or func-

tions in areas without state jurisdiction or in the territory of third states, with their consent.

We are witnessing a change in the very concept of border in this post-globalization era, in which

certain functions are o shored and systematically placed outside a state’s territory and checkpoints.

However, territorial and extraterritorial actions must be di erentiated from those occurring as part

of external actions in or with third states for the purposes of migration policy and the control of

migration f‌l ows.

The reality is that a new border space south and east of the Mediterranean has been conf‌i gured for

migratory f‌l ows, which needs a new policy of external borders for these areas. Therefore, we must

ref‌l ect on new frontier spaces, with new concepts and approaches to the border that provide other

parameters of action towards migratory f‌l ows and external controls.

Today, the Union needs new instruments and concepts for these new realities, especially so as not

Paix et Securité Internationales

ISSN 2341-0868, Num. 7, janvier-décembre 2019, pp. 117-160

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2019.i7.04

to lose sight of the fact that, when it comes to tackling crises such as those related to migration and

the rights of foreigners approaching or entering its territory and jurisdiction, Europe is a rational

construct entailing a project for civilizational progress. As such, it must permanently incorporate

its values and respect for human rights in all its policies, regulatory measures and actions with

foreigners and third states, both on its own external borders and beyond them. This is essential for

the identity and objectives of the European integration, and for the projection of the EU security,

solidarity and values in accordance with the International and European Human Rights Law.

KEYWORDS: European Union, immigration, refugees, asylum, European values, border controls,

immigration controls, migration policy, borders, internal borders, external borders, Frontex, mariti-

me immigration, externalization, extraterritoriality, deterritoriality, human rights

CRISIS DE REFUGIADOS Y MIGRACIONES EN LAS PUERTAS DE EUROPA:

DESTERRITORIALIDAD, EXTRATERRITORIALIDAD Y EXTERNALIZACIÓN DE

CONTROLES FRONTERIZOS

RESUMEN: La crisis de los refugiados ha conformado en Europa una nueva percepción de la rea-

lidad migratoria. Las ramif‌i caciones de sus impactos en la construcción europea son visibles y du-

raderas. La reacción de la UE ha tenido cierta perspectiva estratégica, aunque lastrada por un exceso

de eurocentrismo y de percepción securitaria, que no tiene en cuenta equilibradamente los intereses

de los países terceros. El gran esfuerzo económico que se está realizando sostiene una estrategia

de largo alcance que sólo ahora empieza a esbozarse, para fomentar el desarrollo económico en los

países de origen y tránsito de la emigración. Por otra parte, cuestiones como las de vigilancia del

respeto de derechos humanos de los inmigrantes aún están por perf‌i larse adecuadamente de manera

global en esta estrategia.

Aunque podemos hacer diferentes valoraciones del comportamiento y capacidad de reacción de

la UE y sus Estados, lo cierto es que el debate migratorio ha decantado decididamente un bloque

de países abiertamente reacios a la solidaridad intraeuropea, y a asumir las nuevas realidades y

cargas que suponen los refugiados presentes y por venir a Europa. Esta perspectiva es muy negativa

a medio y largo plazo, ya que, como hemos visto, la crisis también revela la permanencia de las

corrientes y f‌l ujos migratorios, y la consolidación de los vías o Puertas de entrada a Europa.

Hemos considerado en el trabajo la vulnerabilidad de las fronteras europeas diseñadas y en fun-

cionamiento en el Área Schengen. Las fronteras interiores fueron las más impactadas al comienzo

de la crisis migratoria, y probablemente van a quedar marcadas por los cambios normativos en

curso, que tienden a admitir la excepcionalidad como hecho relativamente común en el espacio ‘fe-

deral’ de libre circulación europeo. Pese a todo, la capacidad de resiliencia de este sistema de ausen-

cia de controles fronterizos interiores en el espacio ‘federal’ de libre circulación, es incontestable.

El impacto en las fronteras europeas exteriores ha sido aún mayor, ya que se ha puesto de relieve

en nuestra opinión def‌i nitivamente que, más que frágiles o vulnerables, ciertos controles fronterizos

como los marítimos son impracticables, en particular los de las fronteras marítimas meridionales

europeas.

Precisamente esta inviabilidad del control fronterizo en espacios marítimos es lo que lleva en

nuestra opinión a acentuar ciertas tendencias en las fronteras exteriores europeas, como las de

externalización de controles migratorios. Los nuevos desarrollos normativos y de planif‌i cación

estratégica conf‌i rman esta tendencia, así como la preocupación actual por desplegar un sistema

integrado de gestión de fronteras exteriores.

Respecto al fenómeno conocido como de ‘Externalización’ de controles migratorios, la doctrina

ha venido considerándolo como actuaciones de la UE que buscan reducir, ordenar y controlar los