Jean-Pierre Cassarino

Informalising Readmission Agreements in the EU Neighbourhood

A number of factors explain why some EU member states, particularly France, Italy and Spain are gradually opting for informal patterns of cooperation on readmission issues with Mediterranean and African countries. This adaptive inclination is more of a necessity than an option. It reflects the more urgent need of some EU member states to find flexible solutions for cooperation on readmission rather than to conclude bilateral readmission agreements. The agenda remains unchanged, but there has been a shift in priority actions with regard to these countries. The operability of cooperation on readmission has been prioritised over formalisation.

Channelled policy transfers : EU-Tunisia interactions on migration matters

This study analyses how the migration policy options of the Government of Tunisia have been codified by repeated interactions with the European Union (EU) and its Member States. It argues that these interactions have been shaped by the gradual consolidation of a hierarchy of priorities where the drive for operability and security predominates. A hierarchy of priorities delineates the contours of the perceived top priorities that should be tackled first and foremost, while hiding or dismissing others. Having historicized the origins of this hierarchy, the study sets out to show that the prioritization of security concerns in bilateral and multilateral migration talks allowed the leadership of former President Ben Ali to skilfully readjust or channel transferred rules and policies on migration matters with a view to strengthening its own domination. This had serious implications for human rights observance in Tunisia. Today, after (or despite) the radical transformations that took place in Tunisia in early 2011, the same hierarchy of priorities continues to exist. However, its resilience may raise a host of complicated issues, given the empowered advocacy role of civil society organizations and the manifest alertness of Tunisian population.

Readmission Policy in the European Union

This study sets out to explain the drivers shaping cooperative patterns on the readmission of unauthorised third-country nationals, whether at bilateral or EU level. It lays emphasis on the existence of a predominant bilateral readmission system in which EU agreements are inextricably embedded. As a result of the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, the reinforced political control of the European Parliament calls for an analysis of this system and of its implications for human rights observance.

Participatory Development and Liberal Reforms in Tunisia: The Gradual Incorporation of Some Economic Networks

Since the early 1990s, political economists have devoted a great deal of attention to the potential impact of liberal and fiscal reforms on the economic structures and social and political systems of Mediterranean Non-Member Countries (MNCs), while focusing, among other things, on the gradual exposure of domestic firms to international competition, the dismantling of trade barriers, and the consequential loss of fiscal revenue. The need for enhanced credibility and financial support from foreign donors are often mentioned to explain the adherence of some MNCs to the drastic measures advocated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the European Union (EU). However, scant attention has been given to the multifarious ways in which liberal and fiscal reforms have been understood—if not reinterpreted—by some Middle Eastern governments. This chapter deals with the ways in which the Tunisian government has been successful in reinterpreting the scope of its liberal economic reforms, and with the dynamics that have gradually shaped the relationships between the government and some leading entrepreneurs of the Tunisian manufacturing industry since the early 1990s, while redefining the patterns of participatory development in Tunisia.

A reappraisal of the EU's expanding readmission system

Readmission is not simply a means of removing undesirable foreigners through coercive methods. When viewed as a way of ensuring the temporary stay of foreign workers in the labour markets of European destination countries, readmission may also impact on the participatory rights of a growing number of native workers facing equally temporary (and precarious) labour conditions, in a context marked by employment deregulation and wage flexibility. These implications have clear democratic significance. A new analytical perspective applied to the expansion and development of the readmission system, is aimed at promoting a reflection on an unexplored research area bridging the gap between labour migration regulation and labour market deregulation.

A Case for Return Preparedness

Making a case for return preparedness is crucial in realizing that current migration policies have disregarded so far the implications stemming from various levels of return preparedness. It could even be argued that, for having focused exclusively on the securitization of temporary labor migration, many migration countries find themselves with inadequate instruments aimed at supporting the permanent and temporary return of migrants, let alone their reintegration needs. Return preparedness is also, if not above all, an attempt to raise awareness of the evidence that, beyond established paradigms, a lot remains to be done in order to respond concretely to migrants’ rights, including their aspirations for stability and advancement in their lives.

Global Matrix: A Conceptual and Organisational Framework for Researching the Future of Global Governance

Conceptually, Global Matrix advances in a systematic and structured inter-disciplinary (matrix) framework a research agenda for examining the stance of major world actors on the key policy dimensions to world politics (political ideologies, economics, migration, climate change, security and world view); drawing out evidence of cross-cutting linkages (between sectors and among major actors); and evaluating the evolution and adequacy of existing multilateral institutions in relation to the emerging multi-polarity, and formulating recommendations. As a matter of organisation, Global Matrix has assembled a network of teams of scholars from think tanks in China, the EU, India, Russia and the US, with participation to be extended to other G20 states (Brazil, South Africa, Korea, Japan). The objective is to create a semi-permanent network as part of the emerging structures of the global civil society. It will serve as a continuing ‘track-2’ initiative to monitor major developments in global governance, including at the G20, and at other global fora as appropriate. It is a capacity-building venture at global level, with the leading think tanks intending to work together for a sustained effort, while precise participation can evolve over time.

Réadmission des migrants : les faux-semblants des partenariats euro-africains

La reference a l’article 13 de l’accord de Cotonou, dont un paragraphe concerne la cooperation en matiere de readmission, est devenue recurrente dans les pourparlers sur les questions migratoires entre Europeens et pays du groupe ACP. L’experience bilaterale montre que la readmission a acquis une place centrale, mais cette question epineuse demeure peripherique par rapport a d’autres enjeux strategiques. Il faut donc decrypter les implications de cette apparente contradiction. politique etrangere

The European Union’s Mediterranean Policies after the Arab Revolts: From Crisis to a New Order?

The revolts sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East in 2011 have shaken long-held truths about the region, truths become such through their assiduous repetition by Middle Eastern regimes and the unconditional support conferred on these regimes by the West. True, Middle Eastern regimes had been remarkably resilient, remoulding their authoritarian practices to the prerogatives of a globalized world (Guazzone and Pioppi, 2004; Schlumberger, 2007). True also, despite all their liberal rhetoric, external actors — the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) in primis — played a prime role in sustaining these regimes, viewing them as the lesser evil in a region supposedly plagued by religious extremism, but reliable partners in pursuing foreign policy agendas, commercial and energy interests and the management of migratory flows.