Securing borders, saving migrants: the EU's security dilemma in the twenty-first century

For the EU, though, coping with the challenge of migration has a double meaning: first, it implies envisaging solutions to a phenomenon that is here to stay. Second, it entails figuring out which kind of security actor the EU is and is likely to be in the future: will it be an inward- looking entity committed to ‘securing’ its homeland; or will it consider the security of migrants (and their rights) as equally relevant to the values it upholds and the external image it wants to project? Both objectives are strategic, as they pertain to the future of the EU and the European capability to face core challenges collectively. Hence, this chapter focuses on the key questions framing the contributions to this collection: What is the EU’s ambition as a security actor in the migration domain? Is the EU an autonomous security actor vis- à-vis its member states in this domain? Is the EU strategy with respect to migration internally consistent and comprehensive? Does the EU deliver policies consistent with its security rhetoric and, if not, why and with what consequences