  Due to the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) an electric current flowing in a normal
metal or semiconductor can induce a bulk magnetic moment. This effect is known
as the Edelstein (EE) or magneto-electric effect. Similarly, in a bulk
superconductor a phase gradient may create a finite spin density. The inverse
effect, also known as the spin-galvanic effect, corresponds to the creation of
a supercurrent by an equilibrium spin polarization. Here, by exploiting the
analogy between a linear-in-momentum SOC and a background SU(2) gauge field, we
develop a quasiclassical transport theory to deal with magneto-electric effects
in superconducting structures. For bulk superconductors this approach allows us
to easily reproduce and generalize a number of previously known results. For
Josephson junctions we establish a direct connection between the inverse EE and
the appearance of an anomalous phase-shift $\varphi_{0}$ in the current-phase
relation. In particular we show that $\varphi_{0}$ is proportional to the
equilibrium spin-current in the weak link. We also argue that our results are
valid generically, beyond the particular case of linear-in-momentum SOC. The
magneto-electric effects discussed in this study may find applications in the
emerging field of coherent spintronics with superconductors.
