The Specificities of the Migration Model

Abstract

This chapter centres the analysis on the governance of migration in the Mediterranean, through the study of two singular cases: the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Italian island of Lampedusa. On the one hand, the cities of Ceuta and Melilla are an exception to the EU’s migration and border management model given the exclusive agreements that regulate the region and also the tacit frontier arrangements between Spain and Morocco on the border zone. The frontier is the core element of those cities, around which the different bordering processes take place. On the other hand, Lampedusa has become a symbol of the Italian migration governance. The Lampedusa crisis has stressed the deficiencies of the Italian immigration and border policies and the need for coordination at the European level. Border management has become a central dimension in the regulation of migration flows in the Mediterranean area.