Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

This study has aimed to examine the actions of the European Union and its member states during the on-going refugee crisis. The EU is founded on a certain set of values and institutions that were clearly abandoned by more than one of the actors of the EU in the face of the overwhelming refugee crisis. The purpose is thus to investigate the cause behind these decisions by using two European integration theories. Neofunctionalism and Security Communities were chosen because of their founding role in the field of theories and because they constitute a so called hard case. The study concludes that the reason for these actions has its explanation in the lack of trust and common values between the member states. The crisis is also perceived by some actors as an outside threat due to the securitization of the European identity.