How would Brexit affect security and border control in the UK?

The recent terrorist attacks in Paris, the European “refugee crisis”, and disturbance around Calais all point to the ways in which policing and security are closely related to migration. Less high-profile issues such as human trafficking and “modern-day slavery” are also cross-border problems. The UK and Ireland have never been part of the Schengen zone, and therefore do not participate in several EU mechanisms around information sharing and border security. But membership of the EU has meant that we have partnered closely with other EU countries on several security, risk and border control issues, for instance on dismantling cross-border criminal networks, on tracking down the proceeds of crime across borders, on combating cybercrime and terrorism. For instance, the UK participates in Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, which works on gathering and analysing data on organised crime across the continent (UK nationals are the best represented its force after the Netherlands where it’s based), in the European Police College and other agencies. Eurojust, the European Union’s Judicial Cooperation Unit, has been active in combating migrant labour exploitation, tracing foreign fighters and uncovering terrorist cells, including in the UK. Would our security be affected by withdrawal from such partnerships? Would departure from the EU affect how we manage movement to and from other European countries? Would it affect how we co-operate on border control with our neighbours who remain EU members?

Speaker: James Kearney, Senior Programme Manager, Institute for Strategic Dialogue

Breakfast Briefing summary

PowerPoint presentation

Part of Brexit? Breakfast Briefings Series 6: Migration implications of EU withdrawal.

This project is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council’s UK in a Changing Europe initiative.