Attitudes to a Relaxation of the EU Border Regime: Economically Beneficial but Politically Unrealistic?

Viewed from an economic perspective, the EU border regime is something of an anomaly in that it impedes the satisfaction of labour market demand by restricting the movement of people. This contrasts with the much freer movement of capital and goods across EU borders. Despite this contrast, my interviewees consistently regarded the concept of open borders as naïve and politically impossible, even though they recognized both the economic benefits that have accrued in Ireland from inward migration, and various ethical arguments for more relaxed migration regimes. I argue that this is an indication of the symbolic power over the imagination of the ideal of state territorial borders as constitutive of national (and personal) identity.