Immigration is omnipresent in current political, legal and, more broadly, societal

debates. In industrialised Europe, the multiple challenges linked to immigration

are objects of passionate struggles. The stakes are high in adequately

addressing the demands by would-be migrants to access the territory, the

labour market, the welfare provisions or the political membership of a given

political community.

The result of a doctoral thesis, the present book tackles the legal and philosophical

challenges linked to family reunification and economic immigration

to the European Union (EU). It provides a detailed analysis of the legal regime

created by the Lisbon treaty on the common European immigration policy and

thoroughly challenges its foundations by highlighting the moral tensions it

entails, not least with respect to the values and principles upon which the EU

is built. The original contribution of this book is three-fold: (1) a new methodological

approach linking legal analysis and political philosophy, (2) a focus on

the European immigration regime and the resources the EU has to offer in

facing immigration challenges and (3) an outline of republican ethics related to

immigration.

Overall, the present work aims to provide insights on how the EU immigration

regime could be reformed to be more consistent with the EU's founding values

and principles. It is of primary relevance to legal and philosophical scholars

working on issues of immigration, the political theory of the EU and republicanism.

Most importantly, it also provides political decision-makers with clearly

argued reform proposals.