Forms and Features of the Post-Enlargement Migration Space

The link between the post EU enlargement migration space and the ongoing process of the forming of a common EU immigration policy is the main topic under investigation in this article.The theoretical framework relies upon the ‘pendulum model’ developed by Helen Wallace and includes a close study of the EU policymaking process. The model shows how this process results in an uninterrupted oscillation between two dimensions of governance – national and supranational – particularly in the field of immigration where prerogatives of national sovereignty often tend to prevail. The conclusive argument advances the idea that the EU should involve all the qualified actors either from old or new member states or neighbouring countries in an effective ‘open method of coordination’, aimed at harmonizing immigration and asylum policy.