Sinking Europe, Thinking migration: the law in theory and practice

WHO?

Martina Flamini (Ufficio del Massimario in Corte di Cassazione), Chiara Favilli (UniFi), Françoise Blum (Navire Avenir), Romain Lanneau (Statewatch), SOS Méditerranée (Name tbc), Tineke Strik (European Parliament)

WHAT?

The European Union seems to be determined to contain migration at any cost, including the high chance of being complicit in the death at sea of people attempting to access Europe, and of fundamental rights breaches at its borders. A growing number of regulations and legislative proposals aim at creating major obstacles to prevent people on the move from enjoying their fundamental rights. Additionally, internal regulations continue to separate people depending on the basis of social, cultural and ethnic faultlines. While theorizing migration law as racist and postcolonial seems quite straightforward, forging practices of resistance becomes more and more arduous due to the political landscape.The roundtable provides a platform for a critical discussion on the multifaceted challenges and complexities surrounding the legal framework of migration in the European Union (EU). Drawing on diverse perspectives from civil society, policymaking, activists and practitioners, the roundtable will delve into these matters through a collaborative dialogue. The hope is that through lively exchanges among the participants, innovative strategies of resistance and creative policy proposals can be imagined.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

• Martina Flamini, civil judge engaged in migration and asylum law, privacy law, human rights, data protection, non discrimination, and medical malpractice. She is currently working in Ufficio del Massimario of the Italian Court of Cassation. She is a member of groups “asylum and migration”, European project ACTIONES, REJUS and FRICORE in the field of asylum and migration. Martina Flamini is also a judicial trainer of the Italian School of Judiciary and of the EUAA. Martina Flamini is going to contribute to the collective reflection on (sinking) Europe dealing with migration and asylum drawing from her vast experience on the field as a judge.

• Chiara Favilli, lawyer and professor of EU law at University of Florence. Chiara acted as a lawyer in a Dublin case before the CJEU in preliminary reference procedure (C‐228/21, C‐254/21, C‐297/21, C‐315/21 e C‐328/21). She will share her experience in challenging the most disreputable piece of legislation in EU migration law

• Françoise Blum, former European civil servant, she is currently engaged in the Navire Avenir Project, which aims at the creation of a European Maritime Flag for operations of rescue of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Françoise will present how this project fits into the European migration context and discuss the role of the law in shaping the rescue of migrants at sea.

• Romain Lanneau, Consultant researcher working for Statewatch, a civil society organisation that produces and promotes critical research, policy analysis and investigative journalism to inform debates, movements and campaigns on civil liberties, human rights and democratic standards. Romain will discuss the use of secret evidence in migration and asylum cases in the EU and the potential (in theory) for data protection to offer an effective remedy
  

• Tineke Strik is an MEP in the European Parliament since 2019, affiliated with the Greens. She is also a professor of Citizenship and Migration Law at Radboud University. She will offer a political perspective on European migration law and in particular talk about the New Pact on Migration and Asylum that has been discussed in and adopted by the Parliament in April 2024.