Supranational Format and National Specifics of the Migration Policy of the EU Countries

Abstract

The article analyzes the specifics of the formation of Pan-­European migration policy — a vulnerable point in the process of European integration due to different approaches, systems of values, guiding lines and historical paths in the development of old and new EU member-­states. The research is aimed at detecting the specificity of competences in the sphere of migration both in the EU and in its member-­states, as well as of the balance between supra-­national initiatives and national migration policies. Shift from long-­term strategic decisions to pursuing short-­term goals and saving solidarity and cohesion in the situation of increasing contradictions between the EU countries have become the main priorities in the Pan-­European migration policy. A new point in the research is defining the impact the migration challenges exercise on the transformation processes in the sphere of integration in Europe and the shaping crisis of its most important principle of solidarity. The authors analyze the specificity of different approaches to the problems of migration and conclude that the coordination of the main directions of European migration policy can smooth out the situation with the enforced refugees and will lessen the risks of the EU disintegration. Basically an economic factor, migration has developed into political and became the challenge for the EU because of the involvement of a great number of European countries and the specificity of the present flows of refugees who are mainly the Muslims, and it is a threat to national identity of the European states. The analysis of the supranational and national formats of the attitude to migrants has shown that current policy is characterized by general transition from the restrictive to the selective policy and to illegal migration control; at the same time, the regional approach has gained priority while the state remains the the main instrument of migration control.