HOME AFFAIRS : EU TO RE-ASSESS JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS PRIORITIES.

On 11 March, the Commission published its contribution to a debate that must be concluded in June

The process feels a little like cataloguing - but the member states' justice and home affairs ministers, and MEPs, will have to comply with this over the next few weeks in order to refresh their priorities on legal matters, as well as on security, law enforcement and migration. In a communication published by the Commission as its contribution to the debate, the EU executive lists all the projects currently on the table, with a clear message: there should not be much more legislation by 2020.

CommissioneraCecilia Malmstrom, who is in charge of home affairs, has been very active during her term, obtaining an agreement on a common European asylum regime - although her ambitions have been scaled down by member states - and another on enhancing security in the Schengen area, (following a major debate), and she has also proposed legislation to fight organised crime, human trafficking, online threats and corruption. All these texts must now prove their usefulness.

On migration, for example, improvements "could consist of optimising synergies with other areas of action," which would be in the economic and commercial interests of the Union. Here, the Commission refers to the short-term circulation of highly qualified professionals in service provision, better recognition of foreign diplomas and skills, and better integration of migrants. It has also proposed that the member states should agree on the creation...