AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING IN THE EU MIGRATION AND BORDER MANAGEMENT

This thesis focuses on the digitalisation of the EU border control procedures, taking into consideration the presence of AI systems and automation. The study aims to identify the possible consequences arising from a gradually diminishing human intervention in decision-making, and to recognize safeguards in ensuring the respect of data protection law, when the procedures include a partially or fully automated component. To this purpose, the first chapter gives an overview of the current use of ADM in EU migration, asylum and border control management, taking into account the role of the involved parties, such as the European agency eu-LISA. Moreover, the recent legislative interventions which aim at ensuring interoperability through large-scale IT systems are discussed, with a focus on the presence of automated processes in the ETIAS. In the second chapter, an analysis of the legislative framework in force will be provided, especially on the principles enshrined in Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR) and Directive 2016/680 (LED) about the automation of decision-making in the migration policy, and their relationship with data protection of third-country nationals. Finally, the third chapter examines some relevant provisions of Regulation 2024/1689 (AI Act) to evaluate how AI systems used in the context of border management are defined and categorised, highlighting also the shortcomings and loopholes provided for by the Regulation and its Annexes.