LEGAL AND CIRCULAR MIGRATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION MOBILITY PARTNERSHIPS
Until quite recently, the European Union did not hold competence in the field of the immigration policy. For many years, following the initiation of the process of European integration, it was a sphere within the competence of the Member States. It was the creation of the Schengen area and the common market that induced the actions leading to the gradual introduction of immigration policy regulations at the EU level. It should be emphasized that in the context of the EU, immigration policy regards the arrival and stay of third-country nationals (nonmembers of the EU) in the territory of a Member State, and it does not concern entirely free movement of persons within the EU.
More...