Tuesday, June 25, 2013
D1.18A (Oudemanhuispoort)
The so-called Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ), originally conceived as an EU internal project, has gradually attained a strong external dimension. The integration of the external aspects of justice and home affairs (JHA) in the construction of the AFSJ has recently received considerable attention by EU Institutions. In view of growing security challenges from outside the EU borders, the preservation of the AFSJ necessitates robust EU international cooperation with non-Member States. Such international cooperation reaches beyond the EU classic range of instruments, such as bilateral agreements with third countries on visas and extradition, or priorities set in the context of EU enlargement. When it comes to tailoring its external cooperation within the AFSJ, the EU has at its disposal an extensive choice of individual mechanisms that have produced distinct results. These include, inter alia, a strategic partnership with Russia in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy, individual arrangements with the US covered by the New Transatlantic Agenda as well as external aid programmes and institution building contributing to good governance and the rule of law in the Southern Mediterranean. The paper considers the constitutional internal-external divide within the AFSJ and looks at competence issues arising from the use of a broad range of policy instruments ranging from both the TEU (CFSP, CSDP) and TFEU (AFSJ) to achieve the somewhat abstract external objectives of the AFSJ.
