The expansion of the European Union has required a rethinking of how theexternal borders of the EU can best be protected against transnational crime, illegalimmigration, trafficking in goods and people, non-legitimate asylum seekers andterrorist-related threats. The history, strategic logic, issues faced and currentpolicies for securing the expanding external borders of the EU through theintegrated border management (IBM) vision and strategy will be described andcritically analysed. The paper is based on information in publicly availabledocuments from EU institutions, scholarly writings on borders and themanagement of border controls, my own prior writings on border controls andpolice reforms, and a few interviews with participants involved in creating a newEU integrated border management system.