The EU internal security strategy, the EU policy cycle and the role of (AFSJ) agencies: promise, perils and pre-requisites

The present briefing note analyses and reflects on the EU policy cycle (within the broader
context of the EU’s internal security strategy), with a focus on the role of European agencies
and ongoing initiatives for inter-agency cooperation. It discusses the specific approach adopted,
its state of play while outlining its main promises as well as identifying potential pitfalls.
A number of positive suggestions in the form of "pre-requisites" or antidotes are put forward to
suggest how each of these potentially problematic issues could (and in our view should) be
addressed. These issues deserve further institutional consideration and should be taken up and
elaborated in follow-up measures and documents to strengthen the policy cycle and the internal
security strategy in order for it to be to live up to its promise.