The European Union’s Southern Maritime Migratory Border and its Challenges in the Context of Irregular Migration
The European Union’s Southern Maritime Migratory Border and its Challenges in the Context of Irregular Migration

Summary/Abstract: Since 2009, more than 2 374 975 irregular migrants have arrived in Europe through its southern maritime and land migratory border. The southern maritime migratory border comprises more than 35 000 kilometers, from the Portuguese coast to the Greek islands, the main destination for the irregular migration flows being Spain, Italy, Greece and Malta. The creation of Frontex has allowed operational response capacity of the European Union along its borders to be expanded. Still, the number of the irregular migrants engaging in these dangerous routes by sea remains at a high level and requires immediate solutions as the southern maritime border is under immense pressure. The articles is analysing the ups and downs on the main Mediterranean routes, for a nine years period, since 2009 to 2018. Solutions can be thought in the shape of effective agreements on returning migrants, offering a pool of work permits in European labour markets to African countries that cooperate on returns, schemes for legal migration, a permanent corrective allocation mechanism, putting an end to the first irregular entry rule, and, eventually, a Migration Union based on more intra-EU institutional solidarity and supervision.

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