Brussels, 09/03/2001 (Agence Europe) - The EU15 Justice and Home Affairs Ministers are to meet on 15 and 16 March under the presidency of Swedish Justice Minister Thomas Bodström, for a JHA Council preceded by a meeting of the "Mixed Committee with Iceland and Norway" and followed by a meeting on Friday morning with candidate countries.
The theme that will provoke the most discussion at the Mixed Committee with Iceland and Norway will be that of the framework decision and the directive on preventing the facilitation of unauthorised entry and residence to the Community. Ministers will seek to give a direction to future work and define humanitarian exceptions to the penal sanctions foreseen. The Mixed Committee will also cover the question of unauthorised immigration via the Balkans and will be informed of the application of Schengen acquis in the Scandinavian countries, as of 25 March.
During their meeting, the EU15 ministers will discuss the progress in work concerning the "draft directive on temporary protection in the case of a mass influx of displaced persons in need of international protection" and will prepare their Friday morning meeting with their counterparts from applicant countries. During lunch, to be attended by Javier Solana, they will hold an exchange of views on civil crisis management and on the role of the police in time of crisis. The spokesman's service for the Swedish Presidency recalled that the European Council had pointed out that the Member States must be able to make 5,000 police officers available by 2003 for crisis management. When the time comes the States will agree to deploy these police forces but, he said, troubles are not over yet.
It is expected that the ministers will adopt, without debate, a decision on the new visa regimes on which a political agreement was reached in Council early December. The European Parliament gave its position on 1 March (see EUROPE of 2 March, p.7, recalling that the EP is only consulted). The decision provides for Bulgaria and Romania to be included on the list of countries that do not require visas, and in the knowledge that the lifting of the visa obligation for Romania will not be effective until later, once the Fifteen consider that this country has fulfilled a certain number of commitments.
During the afternoon, the ministers will hold a public debate on the fight against drugs. Legislation, repression and cooperation with candidate countries will be the three main subjects of this discussion intended to assure the follow-up to the Tamepre Council and the Union's 20000-2004 plan against drugs. There will then be a wide-ranging discussion on crime prevention, subject close to the Swedish Presidency's heart, placing emphasis on the need to complete the work already undertaken on repressing crime, placing emphasis on the prevention aspect. The Presidency hopes to reach agreement on the setting up of a network of contact points in Member States. Ministers will also try to reach a consensus on a Danish proposal on crime against the environment, proposal based on a Council of Europe Convention, which has not yet, however, been ratified. The Fifteen will then broach the European Commission's communication on cybercrime. The meeting with the applicant countries "has as goal to determine how cooperation on justice and home affairs issues can be improved", the Swedish Presidency explains. Organised crime, trafficking in human beings, drug trafficking, and questions of asylum will be the main topics of this meeting.
EUROPE will return in greater detail to these different subjects before the Council.