Since the Schengen Agreement in 1985, border controls have been more and more abolished within the European Union. Until now there are 26 countries fully participating and enabling free border crossing for their nationals. This free traffic has been said to be a central building block in the creation of an integrated European Space in which goods, services, capital and people flow freely, regardless of national borders. While European Integration has gone a long way in terms of trade and political coordination, its social dimension has long been neglected by policy makers and researchers.

The sociological research project Reproducing National Borders focuses precisely on the social processes triggered by the opening of the Inner-European borders. It aims at analyzing the impact of open borders on the everyday life of people living in border regions.  I welcome you to take a look around and read more about me and the project. You can also follow the weblog in which I’ll keep you updated about the research.