Paper short abstract:

This paper is based on analysing the situation of the borders within the African Union and clarifying the possibility of creating a space of free movement within the continent. In order to do this, the specific case of ECOWAS Will be examined.

Paper long abstract:

The European Union made a qualitative leap with the creation of the Schengen area in 1995. The freedom of movement has generated cohesion between states and their inhabitants and has abolished old border disputes, turning frontiers into spaces of opportunity.

This project has been raised on several occasions in the African continent and is an aspiration that remains in force. The elimination of borders in African is a challenge, but it could bring enormous benefits not only averting border conflicts, but also having an impact on the citizenship. However, the African Union faces major challenges that prevent the immediate implementation of a Schengen-type agreement such as terrorism, illegal trafficking networks (drugs, people, weapons), pandemics, resistance from some member states, etc. In the course of this study, an analysis on the possibilities and limits of the suppression of borders in the AU will be carried out.

With this objective, the case of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will take as a model. It is a subregional organization that has promoted important measures on free movement and migration management, which are one of the main focus of its regional integration policies. Thus, through a case study, this proposal aims: (1) to analyse the main measures taken by ECOWAS for the elimination of borders and their practical repercussions; (2) to identify the advantages and obstacles to the development and implementation of these measures; and (3) to propose a possible roadmap for a continental model similar to the European Schengen area.