Regional Community Building in Hard Times: Communal and Functional Filtering at EU Borders During the COVID‐19 Pandemic

Abstract Pandemics are times of closure. States typically restrict the entry of persons to protect their national communities from external health hazards. In this regard, the COVID‐19 pandemic presented the European Union (EU) with a severe challenge. We ask to what extent the border policies of EU member states during the pandemic supported regional community building. Our analysis of a comprehensive dataset of entry restrictions imposed by major EU member states shows considerable evidence for regional communal filtering. Entry was consistently less restricted at the internal than at the external borders of the EU. Union citizens were treated almost as favourably as national citizens and residents at member state borders. Finally, whilst member states filtered persons functionally depending on how systemically relevant they were, they nevertheless treated internal travellers preferentially. By contrast, we do not find evidence in our analysis of border policies that the pandemic has contributed to further community building.