Security cooperation, counterterrorism, and EU–North Africa cross-border security relations, a legal perspective
The EU is clearly in the process of developing an external dimension to the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ). This paper focuses on ex. Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (PJCCM) provisions. These developments pose specific legal basis issues for the EU, given its complex EU–member state legal relationship, and the inter-institutional balance, all reflected in the treaty framework post-Lisbon. New Court of Justice rulings are now emerging which will assist in this issue. Equally the approach to be taken in developing these relationships will be crucial. This paper proposes the adoption of an Onuf style constructivism in order to best capture the reality of the process that is developing, and has developed for the ex. PJCCM measures internally. This then needs to be allied with a constitutionalism model to ensure a balanced development of all three aspects of the AFSJ.
The Mediterranean Dimension of EU Counter‐terrorism
Abstract Key to the Mediterranean dimension of the European Union’s internal security is the fight against terrorism, which has captivated most of European policy making in recent years. Counter‐terrorism initiatives aimed at the Mediterranean region have multiplied, taking the form of technical assistance, funding and training. One striking feature of this recent evolution is the use of first pillar and second pillar instruments to achieve objectives of the EU’s internal security. The development of a foreign policy dimension to the EU’s counter‐terrorism policy towards neighbouring countries, in particular, is one of the aspects through which the external dimension of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) has materialized. This article proposes to investigate the input and output dimensions of the EU’s counter‐terrorism policy in the Mediterranean. For that purpose, an institutionalist approach casts some light on the weight of history, critical junctures, the role of cultural frame and of the persisting differences between the member states, to build up a common counter‐terrorism policy. Then, turning to the second level of analysis, which investigates the ‘external’ actors that are the Mediterranean partners, an overview of counter‐terrorism cooperation reveals that, whereas multilateral actions have blossomed, the thrust of the cooperation occurs at a bilateral level, mainly between some EU member states and some of their ex‐colonial powers.
The Area of Freedom, Security and Justice ten years on: Successes and future challenges under the Stockholm Programme. CEPS Paperbacks. June 2010
This book celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) by bringing together the views of key practitioners and policy-makers who have played an outstanding role in thinking about and shaping EU policies on freedom, security and justice. 
 
Ten years ago, the member states transferred competences to the EU for law and policy-making in the fields of immigration, asylum and border controls, and began the transfer process for criminal justice and policing. This decade of European cooperation on AFSJ policies has experienced very dynamic convergence, the enactment of a large body of European law and the setting-up of numerous EU agencies working in these domains. Such dynamism in policy-making has not been without challenges and vulnerabilities, however. As this collective volume shows, the main dilemmas that lie ahead relate to an effective (while more plural) institutional framework under the Treaty of Lisbon, stronger judicial scrutiny through a greater role for national courts and the Court of Justice in Luxembourg, better mechanisms for evaluating and monitoring the implementation of EU AFSJ law and a more solid fundamental rights strategy. The contributions in this volume address the progress achieved so far in these policy areas, identify the challenges for future European cooperation in the AFSJ and put forward possible paths for making more progress in the next generation of the EU’s AFSJ.