Brussels, 19/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - As anticipated, the Council adopted conclusions on Friday on integration, establishing eleven guidelines, from language knowledge to dialogue between religions, in order to try to make integration policies within the European Union a success (yesterday's EUROPE, p.10). "Mastering the language is unavoidable to succeed in becoming integrated, and employment is also a very important aspect", said the Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk. At the lunch, the Council also raised the issue of terrorism and radicalism on the part of certain young people with an immigration background, such as the murderer of the Dutchman Theo Van Gogh.
The Council approved the debate on asylum procedures without debate (see yesterday's EUROPE). It also decided that the European task-force of police chiefs will work more closely with Europol, and will meet several times a year with the justice experts group of the Council, the Article 36 committee.