The external dimension of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice: The case of local consular cooperation

Since the beginning of the new millennium, local consular cooperation has become a priority on the European agenda. The new challenges (expressed in terms of security and public order through phenomena such as the increase in migration flows and international terrorism) have emphasised the strategic role played by local consular cooperation as a means to improve the integrated management of the EU’s external borders. This article analyses the development and the institutional modalities of this type of cooperation that has been developed outside the borders of the EU, and questions the contribution of same to the construction of an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice (AFSJ) within the Union.