Local consular cooperation: Administrating EU internal security abroad

Since the beginning of the new millennium, local consular cooperation has become a priority on the European agenda. The new challenges in terms of security and public order, generated by phenomena such as the increase in migratory flows from outside the European Union (EU) or international terrorism, have upgraded the strategic role of consular cooperation as a means of reinforcing the integrated management of the EU's external borders. This paper explores the institutional development of this external aspect of EU internal security. It examines the patterns of administrative cooperation resulting from both the institutionalization of channels of intergovernmental consular cooperation and the deployment of EU rules and procedures, and draws attention to the contested political visions that preside over this multimodal system of administrative governance.