Entrance into force of the Treaty of Lisbon launched changes directed toward an efficient functioning of the European Union and deepening of cooperation among its member states. One of the reformed spheres is the sphere of freedom, security and justice. Although cooperation in this sphere has continued since mid-1970s its legal grounds were only defined in the Treaty of Maastricht, in which issues of freedom, security and justice are considered within the framework of intergovernmental cooperation. Problems in the functioning of policies on immigration, asylum seekers, visas, judicial and police cooperation were an incentive to look for more effective solutions that would improve and intensify joint operations in those areas. This led to subsequent reform treaties which put into effect the communalization of certain areas of cooperation. However, it is the Treaty of Lisbon that is of key significance in this respect. Broadening of the authority of organs and institutions, creation of new institutions for the improvement of cooperation, standardization of law making, unity of the legal acts in force - all these measures are purported to create a coherent and complex model of cooperation in the area of freedom, security and justice.
