Local and regional authorities and the EU's external borders : a multi-level governance assessment of Schengen governance and 'Smart Borders'

Debates over Schengen governance and the management of the EU's external borders took centre stage in 2011 and 2012. Mobility flows linked to what has come to be known as 'the Arab Spring' sparked a chain of national actions affecting free movement in 2011 and, coupled with wider perceived policy challenges posed by immigration and asylum across the EU, led the June European Council of 2011 to call on the European Commission to propose legislative reform of the Schengen system. Simultaneously, the European Council also called for work on "smart borders" - an upgrading of EU's external borders using state-of-art surveillance technology - to be rapidly pushed forward. The developments in the EU policy agenda concerning Schengen governance and Smart Borders will have critical implications for the Schengen Borders Code (SBC) - the set of common rules and procedures applying to external border crossings and the reintroduction of internal border controls which forms the backbone of Schengen. The manner in which the SBC is implemented at national, regional and local levels is central for safeguarding the EU principles of free movement and protecting the fundamental rights of both European citizens and third country nationals. The harmonious and consistent implementation of the SBC are also key to ensuring the overall smooth functioning of the internal market, with important implications for local border traffic and cross-border trade, impacting on cooperation both between Schengen members as well as third country neighbours.