Justice and home affairs

Within the EU, citizens have a right to live in any EU country. Borders
can be crossed almost without noticing since the Schengen Agreement
abolished checks at the EU's internal borders (with the exception of
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom).
The EU also works to protect citizens from international crime and
terrorism, and to ensure you access to the local justice system and
respect for your fundamental rights wherever you are in the EU.
Access to an effective justice system is an essential right, one of the
founding principles of European democracies.

You can cross most of the EU without a passport or border checks.

Guaranteeing fundamental rights

The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights sets out all the personal, civil,
political, economic and social rights flowing from EU citizenship. Its
Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) helps policymakers to pass new
laws and works to raise public awareness of fundamental rights.
The EU acts on behalf of EU citizens to prevent discrimination on
grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age
or sexual orientation. In the age of ubiquitous internet, the EU fights
for everyone's right to the have their personal data protected.

Cooperation between judicial authorities

When you travel within the EU, you are entitled to unrestricted access
to the legal system of the country you are in. This also means that
criminals cannot escape the consequences of their crime by crossing a
border.
Cooperation has intensified between national judicial authorities to
ensure that legal decisions taken in one EU country are recognised and
implemented in any other. This is especially important in civil cases
such as divorce, child custody, maintenance claims or even bankruptcy
and unpaid bills, when the individuals involved live in different
countries.

To help in the fight against serious crimes such as corruption, drug

trafficking and distribution and terrorism, the EU has established the
European Judicial Network.
The European arrest warrant has replaced lengthy extradition
procedures, so that suspected or convicted criminals who have fled
abroad can be swiftly returned to the country where they were tried,
or are due to be tried.

EU authorities work together to beat cross-border crime.

Asylum and immigration

Common minimum standards and procedures for asylum seekers are
intended to guarantee a high level of protection for those who need it,
while ensuring that national asylum systems are not abused. For
example, they determine how and where applications should be
processed, the standards for receiving asylum applicants, the status of
people granted asylum and the role of national authorities in meeting
these responsibilities.
EU countries are also working to develop a coherent EU immigration
policy that takes advantage of the opportunities offered by legal
immigration, while tackling the challenges of irregular immigration.
The aim is to take account of the priorities and needs of each EU
country and encourage the integration of non-EU nationals into their
host societies.
The EU is also striving to create partnerships with the countries of
origin and of transit in order to better organise legal immigration and
curb irregular immigration, to improve the link between migration and
development, as well as to strengthen the rule of law and promote
respect for fundamental rights in these countries.
For people to have freedom to move throughout the EU, there must be
effective controls at all points of entry into the EU. EU countries are
working together to improve security through better external border
controls, while making it easier for those with a right to enter the EU
to do so. Operational cooperation between EU countries is managed by
the EU external borders agency FRONTEX.

EU security strategy
EU home affairs policies focus on the fight against terrorism and
organised crime, cybercrime and violent radicalisation, particularly by
targeting illicit firearms trafficking, the trafficking of human beings and
the sexual exploitation of children.
The EU's internal security strategy sets out to improve internal security
through cooperation on law enforcement, border management, civil
protection and disaster management.
The strategy includes legislation and practical ways to stop organised
criminals drug barons, human traffickers, money launderers,
terrorists from exploiting the freedoms the EU brings and to improve
cooperation between national police forces, especially within the
framework of the European Police Office (Europol).