Removing internal EU borders, does it work for an island like Ireland?
The European Union is a single market and pretty much borderless. The Schengen Agreement opened the continent to allow free movement of people and goods across countries without customs or check points (Migration and Home Affairs – European Commission, 2019). For EU citizens we take it for granted that we can have breakfast in Paris, get a train to Luxemburg for lunch then bop to Holland for… eh… the canals. The SIS, Schengen Information System is the key to this continental day out. It’s our internal security database.
However, the current kerfuffle about a hard border is bringing up some old ills. Ireland is not in Schengen. We could never be in Schengen for the same reason Britain is facing a battle to leave the EU. Northern Ireland, that is very much stuck onto the Republic of Ireland. While Britain remained outside of Schengen and we strongly avoided the prospect of a hard border, Ireland was locked out (Morris, 2019).
Now with Britain teetering on the brink of no deal Brexit, we suddenly find ourselves back to the debate. Technology may be the key to avoiding a hard border (see previous article), but will it ever be the key to Irelands Schengen issue? And do we really want in anymore, or are we happy to hang out over here in a corner?
Schengen IS is basically a reference database, containing information of persons of interest to the EU. When you enter or exit Schengen zones, you get checked against the system. Countries are responsible for controlling their external borders. Unless of course they’re surrounded by Schengen members (Balzacq, 2008). Ireland does have access to SIS, despite not being in the zone. The main drawback is that we continue to require passports to enter Schengen zones.
With a possible hard border on the horizon should Ireland consider entering Schengen in the aftermath and continue strengthening out ties to the EU. While close ties to our friends on mainland Europe are always welcome, does the increased responsibility of Schengen really benefit an island?
Schengen removes the need for borders and passports to travel between member states. Makes sense for our little day trip from Paris to Amsterdam. But Ireland is surrounded by water. The only way to enter the EU is by air or sea, which means arriving at airports and seaports that require passport identification anyway. Sure, you can use that fancy EU passport card, but it’s still a passport object. Regardless of border checks, flying requires security checks that are essentially the same thing for the friendly traveller.
There are benefits to Schengen, however it difficult to see a world where these benefits are enough to affect the Brexit negotiations or outweigh the fallout from a hard border. Ireland, as always, should remain a special case of this EU plan.
References
Maintaining an open border with our nearest neighbours and island mates in Northern Ireland is probably a much greater need for Ireland than switching passports.
Balzacq, T., 2008. The policy tools of securitization: Information exchange, EU foreign and interior policies. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 46(1), pp.75-100.
Morris, N. (2019). Jean-Claude Juncker: add Irish Republic to the Schengen Area. [online] inews.co.uk. Available at: https://inews.co.uk/news/jean-claude-juncker-add-irish-republic-schengen-area/ [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019].
Migration and Home Affairs – European Commission. (2019). Schengen Area – Migration and Home Affairs – European Commission. [online] Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/borders-and-visas/schengen_en [Accessed 11 Mar. 2019].
Beyond The Border 