ABSTRACT
The Treaty on European Union 1992, as amended by the Treaty on European Union 1997 (TEU), confers Union citizenship on the citizens of all Member States.32 Under the 1992 Treaty, asylum policy, immigration, control over external borders and policies relating to nationals of third countries, was one of the designated areas of common interest between Member States, and fell within the Justice and Home Affairs pillar.33 Member States were under a duty to co-operate in these matters, and to act in compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights and the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees. There was common agreement that the working of third pillar of the Union structure – Justice and Home Affairs – was unsatisfactory. As a result, under the Treaty on European Union 1997 (the Treaty of Amsterdam), as discussed in Chapter 8, all issues relating to the free movement of persons within the Union, including asylum, visas and immigration, have now been placed under Community law and its law making processes, while issues relating to crime and the police remain in the third pillar.
