Justice and home affairs (JHA)
Cooperation on justice and home affairs was institutionalised under Title VI of the EU Treaty (also known as the "third pillar"). The aim of this cooperation was to give practical effect to the principle of the free movement of persons. It covered the following: •asylum policy; •rules governing the crossing of the external borders of the Member States; •immigration policy; •combating drugs; •combating international fraud; •judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters; •customs cooperation; •police cooperation. Various instruments were created as a means of taking action in this sphere: the joint action, the joint position and the convention. Although significant progress has been made, the overall record of cooperation in this field has been criticised. Consensus has been reached on the need to introduce more effective provisions in order to strengthen the cooperation structures and incorporate into the Community framework the areas mentioned above which are linked to controls on persons (asylum, immigration and crossing of external borders). The Treaty of Amsterdam reorganised cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs and set as its objective the establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice. Certain sectors were brought within the Community framework, while at the same time new fields and methods emerged. The "Schengen area", which was formed outside the legal framework of the European Union on the initiative of some of the Member States that wished to advance even further as regards the free movement of persons, will ultimately be incorporated in the EU and EC Treaties. The Treaty of Nice extends qualified majority voting to certain areas of justice and home affairs that have been brought within the Community framework, such as the free movement of persons. Third pillar issues, however, still require unanimity. In addition, the amendments introduced by the Nice Treaty have made the procedure for enhanced cooperation in the third pillar less restrictive than it used to be. Finally, cooperation in judicial matters has been stepped up in order to create a basis for action and for the creation of Eurojust in the EU Treaty. See: •Area of freedom, security and justice •Article 36 Committee (Title VI of the EU Treaty) •Closer cooperation •Communitisation •Convention (Title VI of the EU Treaty) •European Judicial Network in criminal matters (EJN) •Europol (European Police Office) •Free movement of persons (visas, asylum, immigration and other policies) •Joint action (Justice and home affairs) •Joint position (Title VI of the EU Treaty) •Pillars of the European Union •Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters •Schengen (Agreement and Convention) •Title VI of the EU Treaty | ||||
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