Seminar 'The Freedom of Movement in Intra-Schengen Border Areas: Challenges & Opportunities'
On 10 and 11 December 2019 the seminar ‘The Freedom of Movement in Intra-Schengen Border Areas: Challenges & Opportunities’ was held at Leiden University’s Campus The Hague.
This two-day seminar was organised by Professor Maartje van de Woude (Van Vollenhoven Institute) as part of her NWO Vidi project Getting to the Core of Crimmigration. Invited practitioners and academic experts from countries where Van der Woude and her team are conducting research, came together at the seminar to discuss the various challenges but also opportunities that exist in the area of border mobility and its management in the Schengen Area.
Officials from the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Belgium and Spain attended. They represented organisations and authorities that are involved in implementation and policy in the area of intra-Schengen mobility management, for example border surveillance or policy and immigration checks. A number of round table sessions were held to discuss issues such as the dynamics between local, national and European interests and priorities, the use of technology and risk assessment instruments, the blurring of the line between immigration monitoring and fighting crime and human trafficking and smuggling. PhD candidates held poster presentations on their current research for the professional and academic experts present.
Valuable
Van der Woude looks back on a successful event with much satisfaction. 'Bringing together science and practice, not just by conducting research into that practice, but by actively talking with its representatives, is so valuable in our research. By doing so, the dialogue keeps flowing - and this is needed to stimulate both sides to reflect critically about their own thinking and actions.’
The seminar was the third seminar in the series of four seminars organised by Van der Woude as part of her Vidi.