Human Blacklisting - Geographies of Privilege - page 144

produces new products of border control all the time. Yet, this machine does not run by
itself. Let me explain this further.
The Global Migrant Black List
At the front door of the EU a rather powerful and security-obsessed distinction between
travellers is increasingly being constructed between the travellers who “belong to” the
EU and those who do not. Illustrating this is the EU's common risk-analysis model,
whichwassetupinordertoachieveacommonandintegratedriskanalysisonimmigra-
tion issues. It is the word risk that is politically related to immigration which is perhaps
the most crucial and worrying aspect in understanding the recent development of the
EU's external border regime. With risk, the EU largely means practices that are defined
as “illegal” (see also Samers 2004). For its border management, as the EU calls it, and
to mitigate the “risks,” the DG Justice and Home Affairs has released a whole range of
proposals in the last few years addressing the development of a common policy on ir-
regular immigration, human trafficking, and the security of external borders.
What is perhaps most illustrative in the makeup of this external difference-producing
border regime in the world of today is that the EU has composed a so-called white
Schengen list and a black Schengen list (European Council, Common List, Annex 1,
Council Regulation 539/2001; European Council Regulation No 851/2005 of 2 June
2005 amending Regulation No 539/2001). This list includes citizens from countries that
require a visa; that is, an individual permission for entrance during a given period of
time and for certain purposes (see also Salter 2006). As such, in contrast to a passport,
a visa is not issued by the sovereignty of destination, in this case the EU. For the EU
a visa is, therefore, a way to grant (or deny) admission before leaving a country and a
way to control when someone enters and leaves the EU. The “white” list represents the
countries whose citizens do not need to apply for a visa for a visit or transit in Schengen
countries. This list contains 60 countries of the world. The rest, the “black” list, consists
of135statesoutofatotalof195statesintoday'sworldwhoseinhabitantsrequireavisa
for entrance into EU-space. 1 Figure 7.1 gives a cartographic overview of the listing of
visa-obliged countries by the EU. Of all possible geographical visions on the world, the
EU thus inscribes an unambiguous divisionary borderline on the planet. It has made a
division into black and white list countries, into countries whose inhabitants are in prin-
ciple unwelcome (the black list) and whose inhabitants are welcome (the white list). It
isaformofchronopoliticsasitslowsdown,illegalises,orimmobilisesthemobilityofa
significantpartoftheworldpopulationandprioritisesandmobilisesthetravellingspeed
of a select human segment. One suspects that the criteria used for a state to be put on
the visa list relate to the perceived possibility of irregular residence after entering EU
space, the perceived influence on public security, and the international relations exist-