In his 1966 timeless masterpiece "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', director Sergio Leone tells the story of three men who ruthlessly pursue a mythical buried treasure. The film is a morality play which shows how wrong can triumph over right, at least in the short term, and how sometimes good acts do go unrewarded.
The construction of a common migration law for the European Union contains some parallels. As in the film, there are three different actors: the European Parliament ('the good'), the Council ('the bad') and the Commission ('the ugly'). Again as in the film, there are different evolving alliances between the actors and different events change the balance of power among the players.
Suggested citation: Diego Acosta, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in EU Migration Law: Is the European Parliament Becoming Bad and Ugly (The Adoption of Directive 2008/115: the Returns Directive)?’ (2009) 11 European Journal of Migration and Law 19-39.
