Migration and asylum issues are high on the political agenda in the European Union (hereinafter – the EU), in particular taking into account the instability in the different regions, as well as the demographic trends in Europe and on the global scale.
According to the Treaty of Lisbon which came into force on December 1, 2009, the European Union and the Member States share competence in migration and asylum policy which is part of a broader policy area – freedom, security and justice. Thus, the legislation in this policy area is partially adopted on the EU level and, partially, Member States can act as independent legislators on those issues, which are not regulated on the EU level.
Different aspects of migration policy are regulated and/or coordinated on the EU level – legal migration, fight against irregular migration and fostering return, asylum and international protection, visa policy, external borders, security standards of identity and travel documents, as well as the development of large-scale EU level IT systems in the field of migration and the interoperability of those systems. In addition, cooperation with the third countries on the issues of migration, as well as the link between migration and development have become important elements of the overall EU migration policy.