An informal meeting of Justice and Home Affairs ministers was held on 15-17 July in Stockholm with the aim to delineate the political orientation of the five years programme that the European Union will negotiate during the Swedish Presidency in relation to the area of Justice and Home Affairs, which will result in the Stockholm Programme.
The Presidency focuses on putting the citizen at the centre of its agenda and specifically it has been discussed of:
1. Security and Protection of Freedoms of European citizens
Europe’s home affairs ministers delegations discussed issues including how to increase the effectiveness of cooperation between EU countries in the fight against cross-border crime, while at the same time strengthening the rights of the individual by implementing measures to increase mutual trust between different legal systems and reinforce data protection. Furthermore, protection of children rights has been underlined has a priority of the European Union.
The debate focused on the necessity to strengthen practical cooperation between Member States fully respecting human rights. To this end differences related to the concession of asylum status between Member States should be eliminated, in particular it must be ensured that asylum seekers, as far as possible, receive the same treatment and have their applications assessed according to the same criteria, irrespective of which Member State they arrive. This goal will be reached through a further development of the Common European Asylum System. The duty of offering protection to those escaping from persecutions and those that need International protection has been also recalled.
Equilibrium between an efficient management of borders and the protection of human rights shall be respected. Solidarity and the division of responsibility both among Member States and between the EU and countries outside the Union must be consolidated through the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum.
The Presidency recalls for a global approach to migration where the fight against illegal immigration goes hands to hands with the full respect of human rights.
3. Justice
Delegations have highlighted the need to strike the right balance between law enforcement measures and measures to safeguard individual rights and the rule of law. To reach the rights balance among these aspects, the Presidency proposes a number of measures and initiatives, such as: EU accession to the European Convention of Human Rights; protection of the rights of victims of crime; protection of personal data and privacy.
In addition, the Presidency reiterate the necessity of implementing measures to provide real access to justice for citizens, such as: facilitate the Exchange of information among judicial authorities of the Member States; an effective judicial and police cooperation; the guarantee of an equal access to information during judicial procedures.
The Presidency continues consultations, particularly with the European Parliament. Issues related to the Stockholm Programme will be examined by the European Parliament and the National parliaments at the COSAC meeting on 4-5 October and during the mixed parliamentary meeting (mixed committee) on 9-10 November.
Leda Bargiotti
European Area of Freedom Security & Justice 