Brussels, 03/07/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, the Commission presented mixed results in the scoreboard on the progress achieved by The Hague Programme covering the whole justice and home affairs area in the EU in 2006. Targets attained in 2006 stood at only just over half (53%), with deep disparities between first pillar (Community) and third pillar (intergovernmental) affairs. These imperfections should be less marked once the new treaty is adopted. The commissioner for justice, security and freedom, Franco Frattini, declared in a press release that “too often work is blocked or delayed due to the decision making process used for police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters. I am therefore glad that EU leaders agreed that qualified majority voting - and the co-decision procedure - should apply to most justice, freedom and security areas”. “Satisfactory” progress was mainly made in areas such as fundamental rights, citizenship, civil justice, the European strategy on drugs, asylum and migration, visa and border policies, as well as in the fight against global terrorism. But progress was “unsatisfactory” in justice, freedom and security policy (police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters) where recurrent difficulties and blockages held back progress, as borne out by the difficulties encountered for setting minimum standards in criminal legal matters (EUROPE 9445). The scoreboard highlights that implementation at a national level of previously agreed initiatives leaves a lot to be desired. The overall transposition deficit is particularly acute in Malta (18%), Greece (18%), Italy (16%), Germany (15%) and Luxembourg (15%). A number of member states fail to comply with the deadline to transpose legal instruments into national legislation, or have delays in transposition (one or more years). For example, despite being agreed by all member states, at least nineteen member states failed to transpose the 2004 directive on free movement of EU citizens and their family members within the deadline. With regards to tackling crime, a high number of member states have not communicated what they have done to transpose agreements on, for example, money laundering, proceeds from crime, or trafficking in human beings. The findings confirm concerns already observed and support the conclusions of the 2006 Commission's report on achievements for 2005. (bc)