ABSTRACT
The Treaty of Amsterdam, signed on 2 October 1997, states that European integration is to be developed as a ‘European area of freedom, security and justice’. A specific agenda for this field, known in the EU as ‘Justice and Home Affairs’, was established at the summit meeting in Tampere (Finland) in October 1999 and covers four key areas of action:
1. rights and citizenship;
2. migration, asylum and border controls;
3. judicial and legal cooperation;
4. improved cooperation in policing and crime prevention with action to combat cross-border crime such as terrorism and drugs (European Commission 2004a).
