European integration is moving forward and entering areas traditionally viewed as being at the very heart of the state. Many of the developments in the area of AFSJ have been driven by heads of state coming together in European Council meetings: the Hague Programme and the Stockholm Programme have been important to establishing the priorities in this area. Justice issues are also an area where national parliaments have at times played a strong role in scrutinizing developments. With the Lisbon Treaty, the European Commission and in particular the European Parliament play an increasingly important role in setting priorities and overseeing implementation. While we are interested in developments at the EU level, we believe that more research needs to look at the impact which the EU developments in this area have on policy and governance in the member states as part of the implementation process. These challenges involve also the accession countries and the neighbours of the EU. Thus, the external effects of the changes in EU rules can also be analyzed.