Schengen, Free Movement and Crises: Links, Effects and Challenges

Abstract

This special issue builds on a seminar organised by the Centre for Migration Law (Radboud University, the Netherlands) on 4 November 2020 that set out to reflect on the relationship between Schengen and its free movement regime in the context of two crises: firstly, the so-called 2015 migration crisis that led to the reintroduction of internal border controls to deal with pressures at the external borders of the EU and secondary movements, and secondly, the 2020 COVID-19 crisis that prompted the majority of Schengen states to reintroduce internal border controls as part of their efforts to prevent the spread of the virus. Although ‘crisis’ and ‘reform’ are routinely associated with the Schengen system,1 its resilience stands out, too. Rather than seeing crises as leading to the demise of the Schengen system, they seem to function more as productive moments leading to new forms of governance and new practices.2 The articles of this special issue reflect on how Schengen’s crises have reshaped some of its founding principles, its operation and governance, while paying particular attention to the position of individuals and their rights. The reintroduction of internal border controls in the Schengen area is neither novel nor exceptional, but the scale upon which this has happened in the context of the Corona pandemic is new. According to a recent European Parliamentary Research Service briefing on the Schengen Borders Code (SBC), compared to the period 2006–2014, when internal border controls were