On Thursday 18 and Friday 19 July, the Ministers of the Interior and Justice are meeting in Helsinki for an informal meeting which should continue to be marked by the news of NGO boats rescuing migrants at sea and refused in several European ports, particularly in Italy.
The Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, will participate in the Internal Affairs session scheduled for Thursday 18 July. Although not on the official agenda of the meeting, rescue operations at sea and disembarkation of migrants in European ports will indeed be on the agenda of the Ministers, with the Finnish Minister of the Interior, Maria Ohisalo, having for this purpose arranged, the evening prior, Wednesday 17 July, an informal dinner in Helsinki to move this issue forward during the meeting. The aim will be to develop "solid" solutions, with a sufficient number of Member countries ready to join the mechanism, the Minister said in her letter of invitation.
On migration, the Finnish Presidency scheduled a general discussion and assessment of asylum and migration policies on Thursday 18 July. Possible breakthroughs will feed into future working documents, the Presidency's idea being, at this stage, to bring up the difficulties identified by all Member States and to try to remedy them under its Presidency.
However, the Finnish Presidency does not have much in way of ambition regarding the reform of the European asylum system and, in particular, the Dublin reform which provides a framework for responsibilities between Member States, since the political balances have changed little since the Bulgarian Presidency, which in the first half of 2018 brought the final compromise.
Ambitions are also limited because the European institutions are at a pivotal moment and it will already be necessary to wait for the establishment of the new Commission, which could have new plans on the reform of the asylum system, as the new President, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.
Nor does the Presidency intend, at this stage, to retry trilogues with the European Parliament on the texts of the asylum package not yet finalised and for which the EU Council had paused in February (see EUROPE 12195/5). In these circumstances, any progress on asylum should therefore likely take place under the next EU Council Presidency.
For the time being, therefore, it is on temporary disembarkation regimes for migrants that the Finnish Presidency will focus on. For the time being, Helsinki remains within the guidelines established by the Romanian Presidency, which the ambassadors of the Twenty-Eight had discussed on 13 June (see EUROPE 12274/11). This document remains valid, Helsinki believes, and provides an accurate picture of what has so far worked in the field. The Finnish Presidency considers that, so far, the temporary scheme, which has mobilised and continues to mobilise a group of around 11 Member States since last summer, has proved its 'practical' worth as it has been possible to relocate migrants saved at sea.
For the rest, the Interior Ministers will have a discussion on the future of the EU's internal security. They will in particular refer to the strengthening of operational cooperation between law enforcement authorities, such as the police and border authorities, as well as the development of the European Police Office (Europol).
Justice and the Rule of law
On Friday 19 July, EU Justice Ministers will address the issue of the Rule of law and the efficiency, independence and quality of judicial systems which, by respecting these values, allow for better cooperation in judicial matters. The second theme of the meeting will be the development of judicial cooperation in criminal matters within the EU, including an update on conditions of detention, as well as possible alternatives to imprisonment, according to the Finnish Presidency on its website. The question of the European Public Prosecutor's Office could be raised on the margins of the meeting, while the Frenchman Jean-François Bohnert has withdrawn his candidacy to head the Public Prosecutor's Office in favour of Romania's Laura Codruța Kövesi (see EUROPE 12297/19). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)