ABSTRACT
Introduction The European Union is made up of 28 countries with a total population of about 450 million people. The free movement of labor, capital, goods and services for EU citizens was a priority included in the Single European Act signed in 1987. Since 1950, the EU has continued to receive migrants from all over the world because it understands that its economic prosperity and political stability have become a strong factor in attracting migrants. Since the summer of 2015, however, the EU has seen a massive arrival of irregular migrants mainly through Italy and Greece and aiming to settle in northern European countries such as Germany and Austria. Irregular migration, defined as migrants who entered the EU with forged or no documents via land, air or sea routes, has therefore become an extremely complicated question. The European Commission, through the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, is working to address the different needs of regular migration, irregular migration and the asylum system.
