The Immigration and Asylum Agenda.

An area of freedom, security and justice was created by the Treaty of Maastricht of 1991/1993. Immigration and asylum of third-country nationals was inserted into Title IV EC by the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997/1999. The European Council of Tampere of October 1999 provided a substantive input. The proposals of the European Commission cover almost all aspects of immigration and asylum and, in line with the Tampere conclusions, are oriented at the status of EU citizens. A common European migration and asylum policy has been realised at an astonishing speed, though some core instruments have not yet been adopted. During the negotiations the proposals have been watered down and thus provide only relatively low standards, in particular as regards access to employment, which is an important requisite for the integration of migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]