Explaining visa, asylum and immigration policy Treaty revision: insights from a revised neofunctionalist framework

This paper seeks to explain the varying, and sometimes intriguing, outcomes of the past three Treaty revision negotiations of European Union/Community visa, asylum and immigration policy. Regarding this policy area, I focus on the substantial constitutional issues of decision rules and institutional set-up. The results of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) negotiations leading to the Amsterdam Treaty, the Treaty of Nice and the Constitutional Treaty are subjected to causal analysis. The paper draws on a revised neofunctionalist framework and argues that five explanatory factors can account for the Treaty outcomes: (1) functional pressures; (2) the role of supranational institutions; (3) socialisation, deliberation and learning processes; (4) exogenous pressures; and (5) countervailing forces.