The numerous terrorist attacks across Europe in recent years, together with the growing concerns of EU citizens, have resulted in the European Council paying an increased level of attention to the issue of internal security.
This briefing outlines the Treaty-based role of the European Council, and shows that, on several occasions, in keeping with its institutional role, the European Council has set the strategic framework for internal security and for the area of justice and home affairs (JHA) in general. The paper also outlinesthe results of the informal European Council meeting of 20 September 2018 in Salzburg. It focuses on the results of the meeting related to internal security, which was to be the only topic, as set out in the Leaders’ Agenda. However, as the agenda of the meeting was later broadened to include migration, the briefing also addresses the growing linkages and overlaps between internal security and migration in the European Council.