Note on the Informal Meeting of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Tampere 21-22 September 2006

An informal meeting of EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs has taken place in Tampere on 21st-22nd September 2006. During these two days, the EU Ministers have discussed very relevant and substantial matters in the Justice and Home Affairs’ field following the priorities agreed in the Hague Programme (2005), and «in the spirit of» the Tampere Programme (1999). This note presents briefly the main policy areas that were discussed in the meeting which can be divided into four:

1.- The improvement of the decision-making process in matters of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, as well as security issues.

2.- The initiative to extend European solidarity in immigration, border control and asylum policies. Among other issues, this discussion has focused on the Mediterranean situation, including the development of a common European asylum policy, the promotion of operational activity and multidisciplinary cooperation between law enforcement authorities.

3.- The changing nature of terrorism and the response by EU security authorities.

4.- The development of the EU’s integrated management system for external borders and the reform of the Schengen Information System into a second generation.

1.- The improvement of the decision-making in matters of police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, and security issues

The areas of «Policy and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters» can be found in the EU’s framework under the so-called «EU Third Pillar», Title VI of the Treaty on European Union. Cooperation in these fields is characterized by the predominance of «intergovernmentalism» and the unanimity voting rule in the Council. Based on that, the Informal meeting at Tampere has adopted a formal declaration recommending a transition to an improved decision-making by using qualified majority voting. In the Presidency’s view that would facilitate the EU to deepen and achieve more concrete and binding decisions in security issues, and, it would also ensure that these decisions are implemented at the national level.

Ms Luhtanen, Finnish Minister of Justice, also stated that one of the objectives to guarantee operating conditions is the reform of the decision-making system. Reform which would further the participation of the European Parliament and thereby the citizens.

In Tampere (1999), several Ministers supported the proposal to transfer these matters from the sphere of intergovernmental cooperation to the general decision-making of the EU. In their view, the most comprehensive alternative would be to include the matters belonging to police and judicial cooperation of criminal matters in the EU’s general decision-making process. And a more limited option would be that some matters affecting the core of the legal order of the Member States, can be left subject to unanimous decision-making.

At the meeting of the next JHA Council in October this year, the Presidency will present an evaluation of the results of this discussion and a plan for the continued consideration of the matter. As to the European Council of December, the aim will be to draw up guidelines for the development of the decision-making process following these recommendations.

2.- Initiative on extended European solidarity in immigration, border control and asylum policies

The Finish Presidency has also launched a discussion on «extended European solidarity in immigration, border control and asylum policies», as part of the review of the Hague Programme. The objective seems to be the setting up of a comprehensive debate on how to increase burden-sharing and solidarity in respect of irregular immigrants and asylum seekers, based on the Communication of the European Commission (COM (2006) 402 final) «on Policy priorities in the fight against illegal immigration of third-country nationals». The Presidency’s initiative comprises four specific points:

 Firstly, it proposes that the EU finances a significant part of the actual and verifiable costs incurred by the Member States during the process of determining whether a third-country national who has entered the EU irregularly, or an asylum seeker, has the right to reside in the EU territory. According to all the Member States would receive the same payments per each registration, so that this financial support would reflect the existing migratory pressures.

 Secondly, the registration of these persons would be based on the use of biometrics identifiers.

 Thirdly, only the first registering state (state of entry into the EU) would be entitled to receive the payments. This would also imply that this state would have the obligation to readmit the person concerned from another Member State.

 Fourthly, the initiative would require that common European rules were applied by the immigration and border authorities in a uniform and transparent manner. The aim is that the rules must cover all the main issues.

In the Presidency’s opinion, all these four aspects together would enable the Member States to take full responsibility for the implementation of the common European rules.

3.- Proposals for concrete measures to combat terrorism

The discussions that took place on the 21st September were centered on concrete «counter-terrorism measures». The EU interior ministers stressed that «combating radicalization and recruitment into terrorism» has become increasingly important due to the events occurred in the UK and Germany. Hence, when outlining the EU measures, the risk assessment provided by, for example, the EU Situation Centre (SitCen), Europol and other relevant actors must play an important role. Likewise, it has been agreed the need to start a process of regular expert meetings on EU level to analyze the causes of radicalization and take targeted measures on its basis. They also placed emphasis on the necessity to draw up an instrument concerning the storing of information from the video surveillance of major traffic junctions, and to reinforce the exchange of information between security authorities.

4.- The development of the EU’s integrated management system for external borders and the reform of the Schengen Information System

The President of the Council and Finnish Minister of the Interior, Mr. Rajamaki, together with the Vice-President of the Commission, Franco Frattini, informed the EU Ministers about the preparations of the Schengen Information System (SIS II), which in their opinion seeks to abolish internal border controls between the new and old member States.

According to the report prepared by technical experts of all Member States and the Commission during July and August 2006, it seems that the SIS II will not become operational by April 2007 as originally planned. It is expected that the JHA Council and the European Council will set a precise date for the application of the SIS II by December this year.

As regards «borders», the Presidency proposed the adoption of the EU border management strategy (political strategic guidelines). Accordingly, the EU integrated border management strategy should consist of border controls (checks and surveillance), investigation of cross-border crime, a four-tier access control model (measures in third countries, cooperation with neighbouring countries, border control and control measure), cooperation between the authorities in the field of border management at national and international level and coordination and coherence of action taken by Member States and institutions.

More information