Brussels, 24/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - Significant transition and legislative work will be on European justice and home affairs policy agenda for the next sixth months. Following the adoption of the new programme 2005-2009, known as The Hague European Freedom, Security and Justice Programme at the European Council last November, the next six months will partly focus on preparing the next stages, such as the move to qualified majority voting and co-decision for asylum and illegal immigration. The legislative work over the same period will not be less intense, with ministers being even more overwhelmed by the preparatory work on the multiannual programme. Legal concerns, terrorism, immigration, visas, financial perspectives, appointing a Europol director and the HQ for the European Border Agency are some of the many cases to be tackled.
The first JHA Council will be meeting for dinner on 27 January and concluding in the afternoon of 29 January. Luxembourg has included legal issues, financial perspectives, Asian tidal wave victim identification, The Hague programme implementation and the external dimension of asylum policy on the agenda. Formal Justice and Home Affairs Councils will be on 24 February (followed by a Troika meeting with Ukraine on 25), 14 April (Troika with Russia on 15) and on 2-3 June.
The Luxembourg minister for justice, Luc Frieden, and Nicolas Schmit minister responsible for immigration presented their programme last week at the European Parliament. The details are provided below, accompanied by the proposals that the European Commission is expected to make over the next six months. Luc Frieden declared that he really wanted them to think like Europeans on these matters.
Legal cooperation and the fight against terrorism
Criminal legal cooperation: the Council is swiftly expected to adopt the first proposal on information exchanges on legal cases, presented by the Commission last October. On Thursday 27 January the Commission will propose that they go further than the White Paper on mutual recognition of legal decisions, followed by a draft framework decision in February on implementing a network of criminal records in all Member States. Luc Freiden said that they should be able to go far in setting up “interconnections” between the national systems, which are a priority.
The Luxembourg minister said that he hoped to get minimum rules adopted on the rights of the accused in criminal proceedings but explained that this would be difficult. Another priority, the retention of telecommunications data: the presidency would “do everything to reach a political agreement” but Luc Freiden said that this would be very tough. The latter wanted to “force his colleagues” to reach an agreement on punishing racism and xenophobia (EUROPE 18 January).
The Council will be discussing, as a working group, a Swedish initiative that is quite controversial on the simplification of information exchanges between policies. The European Commission announced a long time ago that it had a proposal on this theme as well as on data on passengers travelling to the European Union but that nothing had been done about it. It is proposing an anti-drug action plan 2005-08 and will publish a report on implementing the European Arrest Warrant, as well as a Communication in March on updating the objectives on mutual recognition of criminal legal rulings.
Civil legal cooperation: Luc Freiden informed the European Parliament of the “absolute necessity of dealing with trans-border implications of rules on family law”. The Commission is expected to publish in March a Green paper on divorce law and another on inheritance and wills. The presidency wants to obtain a common position on the law on non-contractual obligations (Rome II). The Council will attempt to reach an agreement on a payable European injunction procedure. It will examine the proposal on civil and commercial mediation. The presidency also wants to start working on low levels of debt, which the Commission will be proposing soon.
Terrorism: Member States and the European Commission will be working to implement the conclusions of the December European Council. Addressing MEPs, Mr Frieden highlighted the importance of information exchange. In March when the commemoration of the Madrid attacks takes place, the European Commission is expected to produce proposals on explosives traceability, the setting up of a general ARGUS warning system, a Commission crisis centre, a police counter-terrorism alert network and a network on critical infrastructure (EUROPE 2 December). Over the next six months, the Commission is expected to present a proposal on the radicalisation of certain sectors of Muslim youth.
Police: strengthening Europol is as always in the presidency agenda. The presidency will have to strive for an agreement at the Council on the appointment of a director for the European Police Office (see other article). Luc Freiden highlighted the “great importance of operational police cooperation”. He believes that the police chiefs' task force should have “precise missions set by the Council and that the Council is involved in its work and that it becomes an executive body of the Council”.
Internal Security: Luc Freiden informed the European Parliament that an internal security strategy like the one in the USA was necessary. As planned in the Hague programme, he wants the internal security committee to be speedily set up, in which the Constitutional treaty stipulates that it reinforce the operational cooperation in this area. While awaiting the entry into force of the treaty, the Council will set up a permanent structure for testing this idea, announced Frieden.
Human rights: the European Commission will be organising a public hearing on 25 January on the project for changing the European Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia in Vienna. The presidency also intents to guide debates on this subject at the Council.
Asylum, immigration and borders
Since 1 January qualified majority and codecision applies for the whole chapter, except for illegal immigration, which is still decided at unanimity.
Asylum: Nicolas Schmit wants to move from an “insufficient phase of harmonisation, in many respects, to a uniform statute form”. The first phase, the adoption over these two years by the Council of very minimal bases for a common asylum policy, is a phase in which the Council should conclude with the definitive adoption of a final draft on asylum request examination procedures. The European Commission should now prepare proposals on practical cooperation in order to implement the text that have already been adopted, by the end of this six month period. It could also propose an action plan in June or July on programmes for the regional protection of refugees and for deciding which regions could be affected, before presenting more concrete projects towards the end of the year. The external dimension of asylum policy is a presidency priority. The Commission still has to complete what has already been implemented and is expected to propose (during this presidency) a long term residency status for refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.
Immigration: the presidency “will try and obtain the Council's initial conclusions” on the European Commission's proposals for a legal immigration policy (EUROPE 12 January). It wants to “continue reflection on integration”. Minister Schmit announced that a readmission agreement with Sri Lanka should be concluded under his presidency and that with Albania would probably be signed. In March, the Commission is expected to propose minimum standards for repatriating illegal immigrants, which the presidency will have put on the Council's agenda. The presidency will generally make sure that a link is made between external policy and immigration policy.
Visas: the Commission should submit a revised proposal on introduction of biometric elements in visas, and the presidency wants to begin work groups “this month” on European visa data (EUROPE 12 January°. The presidency is also expected to launch discussions on the setting up of common centres for submitting visa requests.
Borders: the presidency will “make sure that the European Agency for managing operational cooperation at borders begins in the best possible conditions and at the planned date, 1 May 2005”. This agency will have many roles: coordinating operation cooperation at borders, providing technical aid to Member States, helping train border guards. Luc Freiden said that if there is still no decision on its HQ, work will begin in Brussels. Candidacies for the post of Executive Director of the Border agency should be sent to the Commission by 31 January (OJ C7 11 January). The Commission intends to present a draft mandate in March for negotiating Switzerland's participation in the European border Agency.
The Commission is preparing a proposal in February for small scale border traffic. The Council is move towards a revision of the Community code on border crossings. The Commission will propose a decision on strengthened border cooperation in regions along the internal borders of the European Union. Another proposal is awaited, in March, for defining the legal framework of the Second Generation Schengen Information System (SIS II).