The Governance of Migration in the European Union: Law, Politics, and the Emergence of ‘Formal Informality’

Migration sits at the top of the European Union's domestic and foreign policy agenda. Once a latecomer within the EU's set of competences, migration has become subject to an increasingly complex and contested set of institutional arrangements and processes, as the EU and its Member States grapple with the characterisation of irregular migration as a 'crisis'.

The Governance of Migration in the European Union: Law, Politics, and the Emergence of 'Formal Informality' examines the evolution of EU migration governance, encompassing both regular and irregular forms of migration, and highlights key differences between this field and broader patterns of EU integration. Drawing on institutional and constructivist theories, the book offers a critical analysis of the growing reliance on informal tools and instruments that play an increasingly significant role in contemporary migration governance, despite falling outside traditional legal mechanisms.

Paul James Cardwell explores the diversity of these informal instruments and maps their relationship with established legal tools such as regulations and directives. The book identifies the risks associated with the 'formal informality' of migration governance, including the absence of safeguards and transparency, and demonstrates how these practices threaten the EU's Treaty-based values—particularly respect for human rights and international law—as well as its commitments to democracy and good governance.

Addressing from a fresh perspective an issue that has dominated the EU agenda for more than fifteen years, The Governance of Migration in the European Union is essential reading for scholars and students of EU law and politics, as well as for legal practitioners and policymakers engaged with migration governance in Europe and beyond.