Border Regimes in the European Neighbourhood: Is Their Multilevel Negotiation Possible?

Tensions between securitisation and cross-border interaction have been a major focus of European border studies - particularly as a result of human suffering and deaths of  immigrants "sans papiers" attempting to enter the EU from the South and East.  Perceptions of a Fortress Europe and a unilateral imposition of border security regimes in many ways challenge the European project of crossborder and regional partnership with its neighbours. As part of the negotation of such regional partnerships (e.g. within the scope of the European Neighbourhood Policy - ENP) security and border management have been defined as policy areas conducive to "co-development" and, to an extent, "co-ownership". Yet it is unclear to what extent a true multilateral and multilevel process along these lines has materialised or is indeed possible under present circumstances. The paper will explore the evolution of new border regimes between the European Union and its eastern neighbours. It investigates the negotiation of border regimes between the EU and Russia, Ukraine and Moldova, we will identify to what extent the co-ownership and/or co-development of border policy has been possible. Do the EU and its neighbours indeed share common interests in terms of border-related issues, including security? We will also investigate the extent to which local development concerns have been considered as part of negotiating such border regimes and the possibilities for greater local participation in future.