Political Science Essay: Immigration and the European Project

This essay delves into the multifaceted challenges that immigration and asylum seekers pose to the European Project. It begins by outlining the foundational principles of the European Union, emphasizing its goals of peace, economic integration, and social inclusion. The essay then explores the tensions arising between national sovereignty and supranational decision-making, particularly concerning immigration policies. It further examines the impact of immigration on European and national identities, discussing how the influx of migrants can affect cultural cohesion and the sense of belonging. The essay also analyzes how the European Union's emphasis on a unified identity might threaten the primacy of individual states. Through critical analysis, the essay argues that immigration and asylum represent significant challenges to the European Project, affecting its core principles and the identities of its residents. The essay draws on various sources to support its arguments, including those from the provided reading list, and concludes by summarizing the key findings and implications of the analysis.

Running head: POLITICAL SCIENCE - IMMIGRATION AND EUROPEAN PROJECT
POLITICAL SCIENCE - IMMIGRATION AND EUROPEAN PROJECT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The activity of immigration refers to the activity of permanently changing the country of
residence of the concerned individual. The process involves a great amount of changes in the
individual as well. The activity of seeking asylum in a country is generally undertaken by a
certain section of the society. The asylum seeker might refer to any person who has been a
political refugee from his or her home country and has been seeking refuge in another country.
The following essay sheds light on the challenges that have been posed by the immigrants and
the asylum seekers in the matters that are related to the development of the European Project as a
whole. The essay opens with a discussion on the basic principles that form the founding base of
the European union. The essay thereafter discusses the various plausible tensions that might arise
out of the conflicts between the national sovereignty and the decision-making on a supranational
level. The essay moves on to discuss the tensions that are existent due to the dual nature of the
identity that is majorly maintained by the people residing in the area. The essay finally reaches
its conclusion with the discussion of the threats that the state primacy might face due to the
establishment of the European Union.
Founding Principles of European Union
The construction of the European Union had been based on the activities of the
promotion of the peace within the countries and the states that have been a part of the union. The
union is observed to be majorly interested in the establishment of a monetary and economic
system within the region (Bell 2006). The union is also known to be promoting the inclusion
within the area and act towards the discrimination activities that are undertaken by the people
who have been residing in the area. The union further aimed at the breaking down of the barriers
that are presented in terms of the territorial borders as well as the trade activities that are

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presented within the given areas. The union also provides the proper encouragement for the
development of the scientific and the technological matters, the protection of the environmental
factors (Cini, M. and Borragan 2013). The union is known to assist as well as promotes the
various organizational goals that are followed by the various organizations in discussion. The
basic motto behind the creation of the European Union is known to have been the promotion of
the proper flourishing within the given area on the account of the trade activities within the area.
This includes the various factors like the various barriers that exist within the area in terms of the
social, economic and trade barriers that have been present within the area.
The major aim of the formation of the European Union was the promotion of the various
issues that involved the well-being of the individuals as well as the collective in the social as
well as the economic factors active within the countries. This often results in the development of
the international marketplace that helps in the promotion of the various social values and the
trade affairs within the given area. The association was formed with the proper intention of the
development of the issues that are related to the breaking down of the trade barriers that existed
among the countries (Mudde and Kaltwasser 2017). The union helped in the decreasing of the
competition that exists within the area as well as implement the common standards and
agreements in the matters pertaining to the agriculture and the trade. The immigration and the
facilities of the asylum that are offered by the European nations tend to affect the execution of
the various activities that have been undertaken by the countries that are a part of the European
Union.
Tensions between national sovereignty and supranational decision making
National sovereignty refers to the concept that state that the nations that have attained the
independent status should have an organized national body that is dedicated to the proper

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governance within the concerned organization. The national sovereignty further refers to the fact
that the others nations that are in the surroundings of the given country are not permitted to have
a say in the governance of the concerned country. The inclusion of the immigrants and the
migrants within the European Union is known to have posed a greater issue in the development
of the European Union as a whole (Caporaso 2018). The president of the European Commission
is known to have proposed that fact that the states that have been involved in the Union should
be accepting the immigrants and the refugees as well as develop the proper list of the countries
that are generally considered to be safe in terms of the origin of the refugees of the nation. The
president had further opined the fact that the asylum policy that is maintained within the union
requires the involvement of more European countries in order to deal with the rising rates of
immigration within the European territories.
The supranationalism refers to the governmental conditions wherein a number of
countries form an alliance in order to deal with the creation and the implementation of a treaty,
organization or an agreement. The concerned treaty is known to have been holding major powers
that are higher and more responsible than the powers that are maintained by the single nations.
The powers that are maintained by the supranational entities run beyond the national boundaries
and thus are known to have been dealing with the various issues that are posed within the
territorial boundaries of the nations that are involved in the treaty and not just one country. The
supranational matters that are implemented within the European Union tend to deal with the
issues that are faced by all the nations of the European Union as a whole and are thus known to
be helpful in dealing with the issues that are posed by the immigrants who have been seeking
asylum services within the territorial boundaries of the European nations (Lavenex 2018). The
European Union is majorly based on the supranational model of governance and thus is found to

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be useful in highlighting the overall European entity and interest. The legislations that are
followed within the participating nations are generally found to be proposed by the
Commissioners, one from each state. The increase of the immigration and the asylum seekers
have however presented a greater challenge in the maintenance of the legislative factors that are
related to the operations of the European Union.
European identity and national identity
The European identity that are maintained through the various legislations within the
European Union is observed to be hampered due to the increase in the rates of the immigration
within the countries. The high rates of the immigration and the asylum seeking within the
countries have majorly led to the lowering of the distinctive identity that is observed among the
people residing within the European territorial boundaries (Pauly 2016). The incorporation of the
high number of the immigrants within the area have led to the diminishing of the proper
European identity that was maintained by the residents of all the countries that have been a part
of the European Union. The immigrants and the asylum seekers who have been travelling to the
European countries tend to influence the people of the area with their own cultural factors which
in turn affects the proper retention of the separated European identity as a whole.
The people residing in the countries that are a part of the European Union also
demonstrate the possession of an identity that is inferred to them by their state of residence. The
residents of all the participating countries tend to implement the various factors that are specific
to the cultural aspects that are followed within the country. The intrusion of the immigrants
within the given countries tend to hamper the various cultural factors that are presented within
the concerned country (Bauböck 2018). The other issues that might be posed due to the high rate
of immigrants is the development and the establishment of the various families that constitute of

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people belonging to two different cultural backgrounds. This in turn leads to the huge changes in
the family environments thereby leading to the implementation of the greater amount of the
changes within the concerned state (Scipioni 2018). These changes might further lead to the
diminishing of the identity of the natives of the state. This in turn affects the overall culture that
is maintained within the given state thereby leading to the adverse effects on the native culture
that is maintained within the given state. This also affects the dual identity that is maintained by
the people residing within the European Union. The two identities that are maintained by the
people are the identity as a European as well as the citizenship of the concerned country to which
they belong.
European Union and the state primacy
The European Union tends to implement the conditions wherein the residents of the
involved countries tend to identify themselves as European citizens rather than identifying
themselves as the citizens of the countries wherein they have been residing. The inclusion of the
immigrants and the migrants within the European Union is known to have posed a greater issue
in the development of the European Union as a whole. The immigrants within the area as well as
the people who have been seeking asylum facilities within the countries tend to prefer the
identification as a European rather than identifying themselves as the residents of a smaller
country that is a part of the European Union (Zaun 2018). The basic motto behind the creation of
the European Union is known to have been the promotion of the proper flourishing within the
given area on the account of the trade activities within the area. This includes the various factors
like the various barriers that exist within the area in terms of the social, economic and trade
barriers that have been present within the area (Niemann and Speyer 2018). The European union

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is observed to be majorly interested in the establishment of a monetary and economic system
within the region.
The European union assists in promoting the inclusion within the area and act towards the
discrimination activities that are undertaken by the people who have been residing in the area.
The European union is aimed at the breaking down of the barriers that are presented in terms of
the territorial borders as well as the trade activities that are presented within the given areas. The
union also offers the proper encouragement for the development of the scientific and the
technological matters, the protection of the environmental factors (Betts 2016). The
implementation of the European identity within the minds of the concerned residents of the
country tend to hamper the primacy that the individual should be extending towards the state
wherein the person has been living (Genschel and Jachtenfuchs 2018). The immigrants too are
observed to be majorly interested in bearing the identity of being a resident of the European
Union which in turn threatens the loss of the importance of the state identity as well as the
primacy of the state in the concerned aspects.
Conclusion
Thus, from the discussion in the afore-mentioned essay tends to throw light on the fact
that the immigration activities and the activities of seeking asylum are actually observed to be
posing issues in the development of the European project. The high rates of the immigration and
the asylum seeking within the countries have majorly led to the lowering of the distinctive
identity that is observed among the people residing within the European territorial boundaries.
The incorporation of the high number of the immigrants within the area have led to the
diminishing of the proper European identity that was maintained by the residents of all the
countries that have been a part of the European Union. The immigrants within the area as well as

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the people who have been seeking asylum facilities within the countries tend to prefer the
identification as a European rather than identifying themselves as the residents of a smaller
country that is a part of the European Union. This is turn hampers the overall improvement of the
European project that have been undertaken by the European Union.

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References
Bauböck, R., 2018. Refugee Protection and Burden‐Sharing in the European Union. JCMS:
Journal of Common Market Studies, 56(1), pp.141-156.
Bell, P.M.H., 2006. Twentieth-Century Europe. Bloomsbury USA Academic.
Betts, A. 2016. The Elephant in the Room. [online] Foreign Affairs. Available at:
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2016-02-02/elephant-room [Accessed 19 Jun.
2019].
Caporaso, J.A., 2018. Europe's Triple Crisis and the Uneven Role of Institutions: the Euro,
Refugees and Brexit. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 56(6), pp.1345-1361.
Cini, M. and Borragan, N.N.P. eds., 2013. European Union Politics. Oxford University Press.
Genschel, P. and Jachtenfuchs, M., 2018. From market integration to core state powers: the
Eurozone crisis, the refugee crisis and integration theory. JCMS: Journal of Common Market
Studies, 56(1), pp.178-196.
Lavenex, S., 2018. ‘Failing Forward’Towards Which Europe? Organized Hypocrisy in the
Common European Asylum System. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 56(5), pp.1195-
1212.
Mudde, C. and Kaltwasser, C.R., 2017. Populism: A very short introduction. Oxford University
Press.
Niemann, A. and Speyer, J., 2018. A Neofunctionalist Perspective on the ‘European Refugee
Crisis’: The Case of the European Border and Coast Guard. JCMS: Journal of Common Market
Studies, 56(1), pp.23-43.

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Pauly, R.J., 2016. Islam in Europe: integration or marginalization?. Routledge.
Scipioni, M., 2018. Failing forward in EU migration policy? EU integration after the 2015
asylum and migration crisis. Journal of European Public Policy, 25(9), pp.1357-1375.
Zaun, N., 2018. States as Gatekeepers in EU Asylum Politics: Explaining the Non‐adoption of a
Refugee Quota System. JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 56(1), pp.44-62.