Back to the future: Twenty-five years later, relaunching the project of transforming the EU into an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice?

ABSTRACT

The objective of transforming the EU in an Area of Freedom Security and Justice (AFSJ) area dates back to 25 years and in the meantime hundreds of legislative measures, political strategies and operational measures have been adopted even if, according to several critics, the original balance between the three notions of freedom, security and justice has not been granted. Two important books have analyzed the content of the measures adopted and the main obstacles still present even after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and of the EU Charter, which have removed most of the previous institutional and legal obstacles in fulfilling the original objective. However, as crisis such as 9/11 paved the way to the transfer to the EU of new power and responsibilities also the war in Ukraine unblocked, at least temporary, the current Dublin standstill. An unprecedented movement of interstate solidarity has followed sheltering millions of citizens of that country, and this precedent may show the way for a stronger freedom dimension in the AFSJ.

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Correction

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (https://doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2024.2344971)

Notes

1. Even before the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force, the Commission made it clear that ’…the three concepts of freedom, security and justice are closely linked. Freedom loses much of its meaning if it cannot be lived in a safe environment, based on a judicial system in which all citizens and residents of the Union can have confidence. These three concepts, inseparable, have the same “common denominator” - people – and the full realization of the one presupposes that of the other two. The balance to be maintained between them must be the leitmotif of Union action’ (European Commission 1998).

2. By so doing the European Council also took note of the fact that with the Lisbon Treaty even the last intergovernmental competences in the field of judicial and police cooperation had been integrated into the framework of ‘ordinary’ policies of the EU, the adoption of the relevant legislation was facilitated by the transition to qualified majority voting, the European Parliament was granted codecision and the full jurisdiction of the Court of Justice was recognised.

3. On ‘solidarity’ as a principle to be followed when implementing these policies see Court of Justice of the EU (2021) according to which the principle of solidarity is one of the fundamental principles of Union law is underlying its entire legal system.

4. The powers of LIBE range from the mechanism for monitoring compliance with the fundamental values of the EU (Article 7.1 TEU) to transparency and access to documents, combating discrimination, data protection and policies of Title V TFEU (borders, migration, asylum and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters).