Today, the European Union is home to more than 20 million immigrants, who represent about 4 percent of the total EU population and make valuable contributions to European society. These new arrivals fill gaps in the labour market that EU workers cannot or do not wish to fill, helping to address the demographic decline in Europe’s working age population. Properly managed, immigration can help contribute to the EU’s long-term economic development and competitiveness. At the same time, ensuring the security and prosperity of the EU population remains vital. The key is to streamline and simplify the legal immigration process, enforce measures against illegal immigrants, secure the external borders and support the Member States’ efforts to promote the integration of immigrants so they become full participants in EU society. One of the EU’s more remarkable achievements is the creation of its single market, where people, goods, services and capital move freely throughout the 27 EU Member States. The flip side of this free movement, however, is that the reduced internal border controls necessitate strengthened external borders. Each border state bears a particular responsibility for defending its portion of the EU’s borders and with it, the security of the entire EU.