Brussels, 24/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The EU home and justice ministers are to meet in Luxembourg on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 April. The first day's work, devoted to home affairs, will involve discussion on migratory flows and asylum, with the Schengen area also slipping into the debate. On Friday, a day dedicated to justice, a first exchange of views will be held on the draft directive on freezing the assets of criminal groups. During the debate, it is expected that a partial decision will be reached on sanctions to be applied in the case of insider dealing or market manipulation. On Thursday, the home ministers are expected to agree on a general approach regarding the draft directive on the establishment of a PNR (Passenger Name Record) programme for the European Union, a system that must, in the name of counter-terrorism, above all allow the collection of air passenger data on flights to and from third countries or even, on a voluntary basis, on a number of intra-European flights.
The most sensitive issue to be raised at the Council, however, concerns migration. Last week, the French and German home ministers, Guéant and Friedrich, expressed their determination to resume discussion on reform of the Schengen border code and the possibility for member states to reintroduce internal border controls more easily. On 19 April this year, both ministers sent a joint letter to the Danish Presidency of the Council of Ministers, setting out their wish to put the subject of governance of the area of free movement on the agenda of the meeting, as both ministers hoped to tackle with their counterparts the subject of the Commission's legislative proposals of September 2011. They suggested in their letter that there should be the possibility of reintroducing controls, without European authorisation, for a 30 day period.
This subject, however, does not appear officially on the agenda of the Council of Ministers. As a source explained last Thursday, the Danish Presidency is keen not to interfere in the French presidential campaign and to avoid any political salvaging. Nicolas Sarkozy, who is running for a second term, has regularly hit out at the weaknesses of the area of free movement and even threatened in mid March to suspend the Schengen agreements if no progress is made on governance within 12 months. In bad shape after the first round of the elections, Sarkozy was again critical on Monday 23 April, saying that Europe was like a “sieve”, and casting doubt as to the way Schengen operates.
Although the Schengen area issue is not to be officially discussed until the June session, there will nonetheless be many occasions on Thursday 26 April for raising the matter, a Danish source admitted on 20 April. Ministers are logically expected to look at the matter during their morning discussion on migratory flows. During that debate, a roadmap must be validated to provide a coherent EU response to constant migratory pressure and ministers should, in particular, evoke a series of themes ranging from the ways to combat abuse of legal immigration channels to relations with third countries and, more especially, with Turkey which is still awaiting a sign from the EU27 regarding visa facilitation in order to sign, in exchange, an agreement with the EU on readmission of its migrants. The theme of border controls in the event of unexpected migratory pressure should thus logically find a place in that discussion. On Thursday morning, ministers will also take stock of the asylum package to be finalised by the end of 2012. Another issue on the ministerial table will be the proposal that regulates the marketing and use of explosive precursors. Ministers will also endorse the PNR agreement negotiated between the EU and the United States that was definitively approved by the European Parliament on 19 April.
On Friday, on the subject of justice, ministers will hear a presentation of the draft directive on the freezing and confiscation of the assets of criminal groups, prepared by Commissioner Cecilia Malmström. The directive is aimed at harmonising practice within the EU27. Ministers will seek to reach agreement on sanctions applicable to insider dealing or market manipulation. Also on the agenda are questions of mutual recognition of civil protection measures and the state of progress of EU membership of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (CEDH). (SP/transl.jl)