When Home Affairs Becomes Foreign Policy: Lessons from EU Immigration Policy towards North Africa and Eastern Europe

Abstract:

The Lisbon Treaty has the aim of making the EU's foreign policy more coherent. Its implementers face a conundrum: how to combine the 'external dimension' of the EU's internal policies with the bloc's broader foreign and security aspirations.

The EU's immigration policy towards its neighbours in North Africa and Eastern Europe has emerged as a testing ground. Although initial results have not been entirely promising, lessons can be learnt.