Brussels, 19/01/2010 (Agence Europe) - The current Swedish minister for European affairs and former MEP, Cecilia Malmström, sailed through her hearing on Tuesday 19 January for the post of European Commissioner for internal affairs. She succeeded in demonstrating that she was able to get to grips with the major challenges, such as immigration and the strengthening of security, coupled with respect for freedom in the EU.
In the context of legal immigration, Ms Malmström explained that she would present three directives this year (seasonal work, internal changes within multilateral companies and payment to trainees). She declared that, “immigration is a global phenomenon that has existed since Adam and Eve. We're not going to put an end to it… the population in Europe is ageing and we need immigrants to remain competitive” and to allow illegal immigrants to enjoy the same rights as those of European Union citizens. She also said that she was prepared to re-evaluate the “blue card” for highly qualified immigrants, which she believes is “not very operational”. With regard to illegal immigration, the Commissioner-designate indicated that she would propose, at the beginning of the year, a strengthening of Frontex: purchase of its own equipment, better cooperation with other agencies (Eurosur), the setting up of specialised branches in certain countries, the training of border personnel and support for member states returning illegal immigrants. She explained that, “it is necessary for Frontex to be less dependent on member states for implementing operations”. Ms Malmström insisted on the fact that all migrants had rights, “the EU must always, even when it is protecting its borders, respect the principle of non-deportation, the rights of individuals and asylum seekers. I will ensure that Frontex respects these rights”. She added that she would examine maritime law in an effort to prevent tragedies occurring in the Mediterranean but in the meantime member states had to respect international agreements on maritime rescues. She also said that she was in favour of extending the policy reinserting refugees in the EU. In this context, Ms Malmström pointed out that nine member states were committed to the pilot project for reinserting refugees in Malta. Although similar projects were ready to be launched, the Commissioner-designate indicated that this kind of cooperation could only work on a voluntary and non-obligatory basis. She recognised that pressure was being exerted on southern EU countries and said that she was in favour of continuing discussions with third countries, particularly with Turkey and Libya, even if talks were advancing slowly with the latter. She also pointed out that, “in order to envisage any agreement with Libya, there will be a need for respect for international conventions”. With regard to questions relating to asylum, Ms Malmström did not attempt to hide the difficulties encountered at the Council. She did, however, point out that her objective was to achieve greater harmonisation in the creation of a common asylum system in 2012. To this end, the Asylum Bureau that is expected to be operational in the autumn, ought to be able to guide us, explained the Commissioner-designate. She also announced a proposal on non-accompanied minors.
The Commissioner-designate also explained that she intended to implement an internal security strategy in the EU. “We ought to be able to show our citizens that we can fight against organised crime, terrorism, cyber crime and the trafficking of human beings” in full respect of fundamental rights. Although little new legislation will be launched in this domain, Ms Malmström affirmed that she was committed to providing a “detailed evaluation” of existing measures in the fight against terrorism (including agreements with the Americans) and in consideration of conditions of proportionality, goals and respects the fundamental rights. She announced a review of the directive on preserving data at the beginning of 2011, which would take into account aspects linked to, “proportionality, data protection and the costs incurred”. She also promised to obtain an agreement between the EU and US on “Swift”, which puts greater emphasis on data protection but also pointed out that Swift had proved useful for undermining terrorist attacks. The Commissioner-designate also get said that she was in favour of an overall assessment of information exchange systems. Setting up the Second Generation Information System (SIS II) would be one of the most urgent dossiers Ms Malmström will tackle if she is confirmed in her post. In the area of human trafficking and the fight against child sexual abuse, she promised to submit to draft directives according to rules in the new treaty. She also affirmed that she supported the creation of the post of European coordinator of fighting human trafficking. The Commissioner-designated explained that she would also present a communication on the fight against corruption. She said she was in favour of cooperation with Ms Reding on confiscating Mafia goods and assets. She said she was optimistic about resolving the question of disagreement between Canada and the Czech Republic. Finally, Ms Malmström affirmed that she disagreed with the likely future payment of ESTA if one wanted to travel to the United States. She said, “we have been very clear with the US authorities” in this connection. (B.C.)