The Justice and Home Affairs reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Justice and Home Affairs

A pillar of the European Union focussing on cooperation in law enforcement, criminal justice, civil judicial matters, and asylum and immigration. The Justice and Home Affairs pillar was created in the Treaty of Maastricht (formally, the Treaty on European Union).

Before the Treaty of Maastricht, member states co-operated at the intergovernmental level in various sectors relating to free movement and personal security («group of co-ordinators», CELAD, TREVI) as well as in customs co-operation (GAM) and judicial policy. With Maastricht, Justice and Home Affairs co-operation aims at reinforcing actions taken by member states while allowing a more coherent approach of these actions, by offering new tools for coordinating actions. The Treaty of Maastricht established that, while reaching the objectives of the Union, and notably the freedom of movement, the member states consider the following as areas of common interest:

1. Asylum;
2. Rules concerning the entrance of external borders;
3. Immigration policies and policies concerning third countries' citizens:
   • Conditions of entry and circulation foreign citizens in the territory of the Union;
   • Conditions of residence for foreign citizens in the territory of Member States, comprising families and employment access;
   • Fight against irregular immigration, residence and work of foreigners within the territory of the Union;
4. Combating illicit drugs where this is not covered by point 7), 8) and 9);
5. Fight against international fraud where this is not covered by points 7), 8) and 9);
6. Judicial co-operation in civil matters;
7. Judicial co-operation in penal matters;
8. Customs co-operation;
9. Police co-operation for preventing and fighting terrorism, drugs trade and other grave forms of international criminality, comprising, if necessary, certain aspects of customs co-operation.

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