Investigation of a post-mandate agreement above suspicion
The July 2018 MoU on readmission between Belgium and Tunisia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6145488 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jean-Pierre Cassarino (0000-0003-0954-0559, College of Europe, Warsaw, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 168-184 |
| Publication date | 2022-09-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | European Politics and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2374-5126 • E-ISSN: 2374-5118 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/23745118.2022.2123069 |
| OpenAlex | W4295943658 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 40 |
In July 2018, Belgium and Tunisia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at dealing with the expulsion of irregular migrants. The MoU would have been unnoticed had it not been stipulated after the Council granted the European Commission the exclusive mandate to negotiate a European Readmission Agreement (EURA) with Tunisia. This article examines the factors that have been conducive to the post-mandate conclusion of the bilateral MoU. Approaching informalization as a systemic and evolving process in European and international relations, this article makes four contributions. First, it questions the assumption that informal deals can be equated with a political act that is unimportant or legally non-binding. Second, the article argues that the July 2018 MoU is symptomatic of unprecedented deviations, at the EU level, that today consolidate the drive for informalization. Third, the analysis shows that the MoU has been, as it were, above suspicion, for its existence has been silently tolerated as a result of broader policy developments that normalize the use of informal instruments, especially in the EU–Africa context. Fourth, beyond the official rhetoric about flexibility and informalization, the case study reveals the limits of international cooperation on readmission
Business · Commission · Context (archaeology · European commission · European union · Geography · International trade · Mandate · Memorandum · Memorandum of understanding · Negotiation · Political science · Politics · European Union Policy and Governance · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Public Administration
European Readmission Policy
Deportation Nation
Eurafrica
West African interests in (EU) migration policy. Balancing domestic priorities with external incentives
Informalising Readmission Agreements in the EU Neighbourhood
The Making of Global International Relations
The Readmission of Asylum Seekers under International Law
Implementation of EU Readmission Agreements
The Deportation Regime
Dynamiques juridiques et politiques autour des mobilités en Afrique méditerranéenne et sahélienne
EU-Algeria (non)cooperation on migration
The Design of International Agreements
The deportation machine
The Theory and Practice of Informal International Instruments
Le Gouvernement Asymétrique des Migrations
Borderwork in the Grey Zone
Transgovernmental Relations and International Organizations
Normative transformations in EU external relations
Reforming me softly – how soft law has changed EU return policy since the migration crisis
Why are some international agreements informal
Hard and Soft Law in International Governance
Sovereigns, Quasi Sovereigns, and Africans
How Ideas Spread
De quel « legs colonial » parle-t-on
Borderwork in the Expanded EU-African Borderlands
Deportation, Expulsion, and the International Police of Aliens
Contracting around International Uncertainty
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |