How does this new European approach, which emphasises the inter-EU agency coordination, contribute to addressing the challenges facing the EU? By looking at what role the EU agencies have played and under which political and institutional pressures they work, this article explains the limits that the EU has embraced in its attempts to solve the migration inflow. It argues that the inter-EU agency coordination has faced the limitations due to the following factors: diverging member states’ approach to the “agency governance”, the under-developed roles and unclear coordination framework; and the contrasting goals that each of EU agencies hold. Analysis is made based on the examination of official documents and the interviews with officials of the EU agencies, national authorities, international organisations and NGOs who are engaged in the implementation of the hot spot approach at the Greek borders.
