Freedom, security and justice in the European Union: a short genealogy of the "Security Union"

Abstract

This article focuses on the so-called "Area of Freedom, Security and Justice" (ASFJ), namely the policy field of the European Union (EU) that covers judicial and police cooperation, migration and asylum policies and the control of external borders. The article explores how the AFSJ has emerged and how, within it, the relationship between freedom and security has evolved over time and brought about a shift towards a "Security Union". Considering the whole process of European integration and compared with other areas such as economic integration, the policy area today covered by the AFSJ started to develop relatively late. However, during the last two decades, it has advanced to one of the most dynamic policy fields within the EU. During this process, a critical shift has occurred. At the very beginning of the construction of this area, freedom (of movement) as one of the four freedoms of the common market was the core value and objective to be realised. Although a close link between freedom and security was established since the beginning, "security" (and "justice"), were seen as supporting means functional to the realisation of the freedom of movement. During the affirmation and expansion of the AFSJ, however, security has more and more infiltrated the space of freedom and justice and has become an aim in itself. Out of the AFSJ, thus, a "Security Union" has emerged as the vision to guide the development of EU integration in the upcoming years.