Multi-Speed European union : the Schengen agreement and perceptions of its spatiality in central Europe
Abstract
The paper highlights perceptions of free cross-border movement of people regulated by the Schengen Agreement. The Agreement had developed gradually in the multispeed institutional context of the European Union (EU).
The Schengen process led since the mid-1980s to a stepwise enlargement of the Schengen Area. A multivariate statistical public opinion analysis across 27 EU countries concerning free cross-border movement of people and control of external EU borders specifies two components of perceptions, i.e. positive valuation and practical use, and enables to distinguish four major types of perceptions in the EU-27: positive, peripheral, practical and negative perception.
A correlation analysis revealed public opinion cleavages between old and new member countries. Detailed comparison of differences in perception in seven member countries forming the region of Central Europe supported these findings.