This article examines the European Commission's contribution to the configuration of internal European Union borders. The focus is on several policy areas related to free movement of people. It engages with the literature examining the tools used by the Commission in influencing the EU decision-making process. It also looks into the studies summarizing the developments in EU migration that show the restrained manoeuvring space the Commission has in the policy areas. Building on these, the discursive techniques that are likely to be used in Commission articulations are conceptualized. The analysis of Commission documents shows that in the common visa policy and the common European asylum system (CEAS), the Commission has configured borders indirectly. In distinction, in the fields of intra-Community border controls and movement for work purposes of highly skilled third country nationals (TCNs), the Commission has managed to play a leadership role and to significantly and directly challenge the underlying logic upon which these policies are based.
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