RELEX-JHA

"The achievement of an area of freedom, security and justice through the EU external relations"

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'This project concerns the way the European Union (EU) can build an area of freedom, security and justice by making use of its powers to enter into international agreements with third countries. The EU has recently acquired the competence to legislate in this area. Very recently, the European Council has put forward the idea that the EU internal action is not enough to build such an area. Challenges to the EU external borders such as illegal immigration and threatens to the EU internal security such as terrorist attacks and organised crime (money laundering, trafficking of human beings, drugs) require the EU to act as an international actor. This is why the EU has started to make use of a wide range of international agreements, affecting cross pillar policies, whose adoption involves various actors such as the Commission, the Council, Europol. The objective of this project is to identify possible legal problems that the European Institutions may face in concluding these agreements. More precisely, the following legal issues will be explored: a) to what extent international agreements are necessary as well as effective to build an area of freedom, security and justice; b) whether the EU is competent to enter into these agreements affecting an ever increasing number of cross pillar policies and to what extent Member States remain competent to conclude international agreements in areas affecting the EU internal security and the EU external borders; c) whether these agreements are coherent; d) whether these agreements create accountability problems, in particular as far as the Europol’s agreements are concerned. This project is in line with the objectives of the Work Programme for experienced researcher since it is intended to expand the applicant’s competences in a new area of research and is based on a multidisciplinarity approach. This proposed shift of research interests will enable the applicant to strengthen her chances of being appointed Professor.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Through stronger ties with other countries and intensive external relations, the EU can raise the levels of freedom, security and justice for its citizens.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

One of the EU's most ambitious political aims is to enhance these qualities by making use of its powers to enter into international agreements with foreign countries. Challenges such as illegal immigration and security threats such as terrorist attacks or organised crime require the EU to contribute as an international actor. However, studies show that EU internal mechanisms are not always adequate to combat these phenomena effectively and foster the desired level of security. This is why the EU has started to make use of a wide range of international agreements, affecting cross-pillar policies whose adoption involves various actors such as the European Commission and Council, and Europol, the European Police Office.

Under a Marie Curie scholarship, 'The achievement of an area of freedom, security and justice through the EU external relations' (RELEX-JHA) project partners worked on identifying legal problems that European Institutions may face in concluding these agreements. It explored the extent to which international agreements are necessary and effective in building an area of freedom, security and justice. The project then probed whether the EU is competent to enter into these agreements and whether Member States are competent to conclude international agreements on internal security and external borders. RELEX-JHA also looked at how coherent these projects are and examined whether they create challenges in accountability, particularly with respect to Europol agreements.

The most important result of the project has been the publication of a book, The external dimension of the area of freedom, security and justice: challenges and opportunities. It contains a collection of essays presented by speakers at an international conference held in May 2009. The publication also includes a study on 'The role of the EU institutions and the range of legal instruments' that the project undertook. Other papers on subjects such as security measures and challenging counter-terrorism measures through the courts were also published in parallel.

These are relatively unexplored topics that hold much importance for security and safety measures within the EU. The resulting book and articles can be very useful for policymakers in facing today's threats and in preparing more effective policies. When coupled with more international cooperation and agreements, RELEX-JHA's results could help add another level of security to existing measures.