Asylum, immigration and Schengen post-Amsterdam. A first assessment

Book abstract:

The Treaty of Amsterdam introduced significant and far-reaching reforms in the fields of justice and home affairs. Did these extensive reforms enable the Union to boost its action in these areas? What were the Treaty's implications for the operation of the EU institutions and, more broadly, for the coherence and cohesion of the Union itself? These were the questions raised in the eighth Schengen and Justice and Home Affairs colloquium organised by the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht in June 2000. Politicians, senior civil servants and academics were invited to make a first assessment of progress achieved post-Amsterdam and pre-Nice. This volume gathers together their contributions on the following selected issues: the output so far in the core areas of asylum and immigration which were communautarised; the strategic priorities and operational developments in the field of external action in justice and home affairs; the impact of the incorporation of Schengen; the effects of flexibility - the most problematic aspect of the reform; and perspectives for the enlargement process in the justice and home affairs areas.

The volume contains texts in English and French.