ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to discuss how EU Mobility Partnerships fit the EU External Migration Governance and to give a comprehensive overview of what type of instruments Mobility Partnerships are. Traditionally, bilateral agreements have been the legal instrument of choice in the field of international migration, with the disadvantage of leading to fragmented and sometimes incoherent regulations. Since 2007, the EU has increasingly relied on soft law instruments, such as Mobility Partnerships, which are flexible and can adapt rapidly to the changes in policy priorities and circumstances. The role of soft law in international law has been widely studied and it is commonly recognised that legally non-binding agreements nevertheless may have legal implications. For this reason, it is remarkable that the EU Mobility Partnerships are routinely dismissed as having only political (not legal) potential. In addition, an overview of the main criteria potentially influencing the relevance of Mobility Partnerships in provided.
