European Union Policy Towards Irregular Immigration

Abstract

Preventing and combating irregular immigration has been one of the key objectives of EU immigration policy since the EU gained competence in this field. Although irregular immigra­tion is broadly defined in this policy and covers the phenomenon of illegal entry, transit and residence of immigrants in Member States, the EU has focused its efforts on eliminating illegal entry. To achieve this, actions were taken in areas directly related to it, such as combating mi­grant smuggling and the fight against trafficking in human beings, as well as those that gradu­ ally developed their own logic of specific policies such as: management of external borders, visa or asylum. This meant that from the very beginning, EU activity against illegal immigration was scattered and was a part of several specific policies, strategies and action plans. The migration crisis in 2015–2016 only slightly verified the EU approach to irregular immigration. The elimination of illegal entry by combating smuggling (carried out by means of external border controls and even security and defence policy instruments) remained a priority, complemented by strengthening efforts for the second objective, which was to increase the return of immigrants who were not allowed to stay in member countries. Additionally, EU attention has been turned more towards eliminating the root causes of irregular immigration. In this respect, the EU has focused primarily on various external policy instruments to cooperate with the countries of origin and transit of immigrants.