THE EUROPEAN MIGRATION CRISIS (2015 – 2016) AND ITS IMPACT ON COOPERATIVE PROCESSES WITHIN THE EUROPEAN UNION (IN THE EXAMPLE OF ITALY)

The aim of the article is to examine how the European migration crisis affected cooperation within the European Union. In addition, the author analyzed the strategy Italy adopted as a key country in the migration crisis and changes brought about by the events of 2015 – 2016. Equally important was the examination of how different strategies influenced cooperation within the shared European area of freedom, security, and justice. The research methodology is based on the principle of historicism. The author applies analytical, chronological, comparative, historical-legal, and comparative-legal methods. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that this study fills a gap in the academic literature and attempts to analyze the cooperative processes within the European Union during the European migration crisis. Conclusions. The 2015 – 2016 migration crisis presented significant challenges to the European Union, particularly regarding migration policy, cooperation and principles of solidarity among member states. After analyzing the legislation, the author concludes that the Dublin Regulation, which assumed that the first-entry countries are responsible for processing asylum applications, created an excessive burden on border states. The principle of solidarity, which the EU tried to implement through the relocation scheme, was ineffective, as some countries, such as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, refused to participate in its implementation. This highlighted the solidarity crisis and revealed internal differences in the EU regarding migration policy. Italy, despite limited support from the EU, took measures to address the crisis, including initiating the Mare Nostrum operation aimed at rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The author emphasizes that, although the EU has taken certain steps in the direction of helping Italy, such programs as Operation Triton had a much smaller scale and funding compared to the Italian initiative. Based on the analysis, the article concludes the need to reform the European migration policy, strengthen the principle of solidarity, and introduce more effective financial and technical tools to support countries that are at the epicenter of crisis situations.