Each European state used to develop its own policies for managing international migration in isolation. This was due to differences in migration flows, social conditions, and the political environment. Since the 1980s, however, the EU has placed migration and asylum policy within its own integration efforts. Cooperation is already well-developed in the areas of border control, asylum systems and permanent residence permits. Recent years have been characterised by efforts to develop a common system of labour migration management, to deal with irregular migration and to cooperate with third countries in promoting migration and development. Only time will reveal the extent to which these goals are feasible, whether they are really shared by Member states, and whether European immigration and asylum policies can finally be unified. Our “Migration and EU” theme analyses the political processes that contribute to this shaping of future EU migration policies.

The “Migration and EU” theme is coordinated by Matouš Bořkovec, who can be contacted at support(at)mkc.cz.