Reflections on the European migration policy: relations with countries of origin and transit

International migration receives constant media coverage. However, the information provided generally does not go beyond the tale of punctual events, often humanitarian catastrophes or individual calamities of clandestine migrants and asylum seekers. Over the last years, this focus has promoted the idea that migration (from an EU point of view, immigration) is a serious problem and even a threat to the security, prosperity and public order of host countries. This vision has been reinforced by the incapacity of governments to establish effective policies of migration management.
The aim of this paper is to investigate the underlying components of the current debate on migration in Europe. The hypothesis posed is that the European Union as an emerging international actor and based on its own values and interests should develop, in the framework of its competencies, a migration management policy that is coherent, coordinated and cooperative. If migration is managed in a cooperative manner, with a global outlook and clearly defined, long-term objectives, it can be beneficial for the three main actors involved: the sending countries, the migrants and the host countries.