Brussels, 21/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - EU home affairs ministers are expected to accept, on Thursday 22 September, that they are unable at this stage to reach agreement on the requests by Romania and Bulgaria to become part of the Schengen area, the European border-free area, because of the opposition of two member states, the Netherlands and Finland. The issue will probably be back on the table at the next European Council on 17-18 October. The Polish Presidency intends to do all in its power to find a solution before the meeting of EU leaders.
Member states' justice and home affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday 22 and Friday 23 September, under the chairmanship of Jerzy Miller, Polish Home Affairs Minister, and Krzysztof Kwiatkowski, Polish Justice Minister. In addition to Bulgarian and Romanian accession to the Schengen area, they will discuss Commission proposals on strengthening the Schengen area, the state of play on the European Common Asylum System and progress towards passenger name record (PNR) agreements with third countries.
At lunch on Thursday, ministers will broach the issue of how better to detect radicalisation and prevent certain acts (following the massacres in Norway).
On Friday, EU justice ministers are expected to confirm an agreement on improving the protection of victims of crime, with a view to reaching agreement between the Council and the European Parliament.
Enlargement of the Schengen area to include Bulgaria and Romania. The home affairs ministers of the 22 EU countries which are members of the Schengen area will try to find agreement on the applications for accession to Schengen from Romania and Bulgaria. The Netherlands and Finland announced at the COREPER (committee of the member states' permanent representatives to the EU) meeting on Wednesday 21 September, however, that they oppose any opening, even partial, of the Schengen area to these countries. For a country to join the free travel area, there has to be unanimity among the member countries.
The Polish Presidency will try to fine-tune a proposal on a stage-by-stage enlargement, based on what has been put forward by France and Germany, in particular: opening Schengen's air and maritime borders to Romania and Bulgaria on 31 October 2011, and deciding next year on opening land borders. The Netherlands and Finland are against this compromise as they hold the view that the criteria for extending the Schengen area to these countries have not been met. It would appear, then, that the matter is once again at stalemate. Heads of state and government may discuss the issue on 17-18 October.
Schengen governance. The Commission will present its communication on strengthening Schengen and the two legislative proposals, adopted last Friday (see EUROPE 10454), that go along with it. Three countries - Spain, France and Germany - have already issued criticism of certain aspects of the proposals. They are satisfied that the Commission has proposed to extend possibilities for restoring borders, for instance in the event of migratory pressure. Currently border controls can be reinstated in security-related cases. The Commission proposes to report every six months with a debate in Council on “the state of Schengen”. This has been welcomed by the three countries.
In terms of procedures, the Commission would like, through comitology, to reserve to itself the right to propose a decision to a member state's committee on re-introduction of border controls. It is also the Commission which would take forward the opinion of the committee. France, Spain and Germany are ready to discuss this procedure with regard to new cases (for example, migratory pressure), but do not accept that this comitology procedure should apply to what exists at present in the areas of public order (re-introduction of border controls, for example, in the event of the organisation of a major event, such as a G20 meeting).
Mixed committee (EU Council, plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland). This committee will look at progress on the development of a visa information system (VIS). The system is due to go live by mid-October of this year. The committee will discuss the state of progress on implementation of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). The timescale presented by the Commission in October 2010 provides for SIS II to come on stream in spring 2013. The committee will also hold a first exchange of views on a proposal to facilitate local border traffic in the Kaliningrad area (a Russian enclave in Europe). There is debate over its extent.
Illegal migration and people trafficking. Austria and Hungary will raise the issue of the increase in illegal migration from the Balkans and the Greece-Turkey border. Austria and Hungary suggest an action plan for Greek borders.
Asylum. Ministers will discuss the Common European Asylum System, which is due to be in place by 2012.
PNR. The Council will take stock on negotiations taking place with the United States and Canada on agreements on the transfer and use of passenger name records - PNR). The Council will adopt, without debate, a decision on signing the PNR agreement between the EU and Australia. The EU is opening negotiations with Canada. The Commission had almost concluded an agreement with the US but has to begin talks again following criticism from the Council and European Parliament of the initial draft agreement.
Tracking terrorist finance. The Council will discuss the communication which proposes setting up a European system to track terrorist finance from bank data.
Justice section (Friday). The Council is expected to adopt a text, on which agreement with the European Parliament will be required, on the European protection order. The aim of this text is to provide protection for victims of violence, including female victims of domestic violence. The text will ensure that a protection order issued in any member state is valid in all others. This protection will cover sexual violence, harassment, kidnapping, stalking and attempted murder.
The Council will discuss the draft directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings. Several countries, including France, Belgium and the United Kingdom, will write a letter criticising the proposal which its critics say: - will go beyond what EU Court of Justice case law demands; - is likely to complicate investigations (for example, that a lawyer be required to be present when evidence is being gathered, DNA trace for instance). Some countries are fearful of the “Americanisation” of the system and have concerns over the financial implications of the proposal on legal aid.
The Commission will present a proposal, dating from July 2011, on creating a European account preservation order, the aim of which is to make cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters easier. (LC/transl.rt)