The European Union is a community of law, with the rule of law being a basic value since the Union’s inception. The President-elect of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has confirmed a strong commitment to uphold the rule of law, which remains a shared responsibility for all EU institutions and all Member States. Continue reading
The unprecedented arrival of refugees and irregular migrants in the EU, which peaked in 2015, exposed a series of deficiencies and gaps in EU policies on external borders. Continue reading
Written by Alexandra Gatto and Jesús Carmona (3rd edition), In December 2015, the European Commission proposed setting up a European Border and Coast Guard System (EBCGS), building on the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the EU (Frontex). The proposal would introduce a supervisory … Continue reading
Written by Anita Orav Eurodac is a biometric database in which Member States are required to enter the fingerprint data of irregular migrants or asylum-seekers in order to identify where they entered the EU, and whether they have previously made asylum applications. Its main purpose is to facilitate the application of the Dublin Regulation, which … Continue reading
Written by Eva-Maria Poptcheva With asylum-seekers and immigrants still dying off the shores of European Union Member States, EU asylum and migration policies are high on the political agenda. The newly completed Common European Asylum System and the many pieces of legislation on irregular immigration at EU level have not succeeded in stopping further tragedies … Continue reading
Written by Clare Ferguson Parliament’s next plenary session takes place from 9 to 12 February in Strasbourg. With little high-profile legislative work on the agenda, the session takes place before a backdrop of ongoing security concerns. The informal European Council meeting at the end of the week is likely to demonstrate how the EU’s leaders … Continue reading
In recent years, EU Member States have been confronted with increasing numbers of irregular migrants travelling on overloaded and/or unseaworthy boats across the Mediterranean Sea. In order to limit the growing numbers of fatalities, with hundreds of lives being lost, the EU and its Member States have sought to improve surveillance at the EU’s external … Continue reading