Ασφάλεια, ελευθερία και δημοκρατία υπό τη συνθήκη Σένγκεν

Abstract

This article attempts a sociopolitical assessment of the implementation and effectiveness of the Schengen’s Agreement and its impact on human rights, civil liberties, and democracy, at the member nation-states and the European Union (EU). This assessment takes under serious consideration the current primacy of the security or ‘securitization’ logic, especially after the Sept. 11, in the whole Schengen’s system , which considers social issues, like immigration, as EU security threats. Even if we provide documented evidence, which supports fears that up to the present a “fortress Europe” is being build rather than a “People’s Europe”, we do not consider this current trend of the European integration as teleological; whether an exclusivist, authoritarian “fortress-Europe” or an inclusive, secure and democratic “People’s Europe” will finally prevail, is pending on various conflicting interests, the efficiency of the democratic institutions and the vigilance of the civil society.