Afterword. The New Dimension of EU Security in a Transnational Justice and Governance System

The title of this epilogue intends to highlight the results of the research carried out within the Jean Monnet Module ‘EU-Western Balkans Cooperation on Justice and Home Affairs’ and the ensuing insights chronicled in this book. Specifically, the findings highlight the new dimension of security in relation to protecting the EU system and its identity (‘unity in diversity’), albeit seemingly not adequately implemented at the level of EU law. Conversely, a system of justice and governance has emerged at the transnational level within the wider European area. This notion emerges from the analysis of doctrine that has long debated the exercise of public authority in the context of international institutional law, highlighting the impact of State organizations’ action in the life of international economic, social, and political relationships. However, for the purposes of this research, the exercise of public authority in the multilevel system of EU law (international, European, and national) has emphasized a model of cooperation among national public authorities that continue to operate and drive the European integration process, as well as the centralization of these cooperation activities within EU agencies.