Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-06-20-Speech-3-243"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070620.24.3-243"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Madam President, Vice-President Wallström, ladies and gentlemen, the European Union has set itself the task of providing its citizens with an area of freedom, security and justice. The Union, however, cannot achieve this aim on its own. Free movement of persons and goods and Europe’s economic strength and democratic stability have made the European Union a magnet for illegal immigration, organised crime, international drug-trafficking and even Islamist terrorism.
In the last few days the German Presidency has been continuing to do its utmost to bring about the conclusion of a new agreement on the transfer of passenger name records. The United States is not an easy negotiating partner, as we have learned from these discussions.
In addition, the German Presidency has also brought Europe’s two strategic partners, the United States and Russia, round the table to discuss common security challenges. These include combating the drug trade, fighting terrorism and managing border security.
Another part of the report is devoted to the reinforcement of police and judicial cooperation. I believe the German Presidency has made considerable headway in improving cooperation within the European Union. Special mention should be made in this context of the agreement to bring many of the provisions of the Prüm Convention into the legislative framework of the EU.
Political agreement was also reached on the incorporation of Europol into the legal framework of the European Union. Frontex has also been considerably strengthened over the past six months.
Let me also highlight the framework decision on exchanges of data from criminal records between Member States, which was referred to in the Klich report.
The extent to which cooperation is possible with non-EU countries such as Russia depends on the level of data protection in those countries, and that will have to be examined on a case-by-case basis.
Global threats and phenomena can only be effectively combated through international cooperation. This strategy for the external dimension of justice and home-affairs policy is therefore indispensable to the creation of an area of freedom, security and justice. The Council will continue to rely on close cooperation, conducted in a spirit of mutual trust, with the committee and the European Parliament in the implementation and further development of this strategy.
This means that we must reflect on how we can develop the existing mechanisms and approaches in the field of justice and home affairs and, as the rapporteur just mentioned, integrate them into the external relations of the EU.
I warmly welcome the great interest shown by the European Parliament in the external dimension of justice and home affairs and particularly in the aforementioned strategy, and the recommendations contained in your report, Mr Klich, provide important food for thought for the Council’s deliberations on how to strengthen the role of the Union’s policy on justice and home affairs in its external relations and make it even more effective.
The strategy for the external dimension of our justice and home-affairs policy sets out the objectives and line of approach in detail. One element of our cooperation with countries outside the EU is the support provided by the European Union to institutions and to capacity-building efforts. This is a long-term task, and progress in its performance is discussed within the joint institutions. The direct neighbours of the European Union play a particularly important role with regard to the security of the Union. This is why the action plans adopted jointly with our partner states as part of the European neighbourhood policy contain very comprehensive chapters on cooperation in the domains of justice and home affairs.
Among the countries involved in the European neighbourhood policy, Ukraine has a very special status, not only on account of its long common border with the EU. Cooperation with Ukraine in the fields of justice and home affairs is already far advanced. Another cornerstone was laid in Luxembourg on 11 June with the signing of a working agreement between Frontex and the Ukrainian border-guard service. In addition, visa-facilitation and readmission agreements were signed on 18 June.
The Union attaches special importance to close cooperation with neighbouring regions in the realm of migration. On the basis of its Global Approach to Migration, the European Union has greatly intensified its cooperation with the countries of Africa and the Mediterranean region over the past year and a half. The results are encouraging. Only two days ago, on 18 June, the General Affairs Council decided to extend the Global Approach to Migration to the neighbouring regions on the eastern and southern borders of the EU. Besides our direct neighbours, cooperation in the realm of justice and home affairs assumes particular importance in the context of the European Union’s relations with its strategic partners, the United States and Russia. Accordingly, the report also deals with many aspects of this partnership.
In May 2005, Russia and the EU adopted four road maps for the creation of common areas. The common area of freedom, security and justice is the one in which the greatest progress has been achieved to date – a view shared by the Russian side. This, of course, includes the agreement on visas and readmission, which entered into force at the beginning of June.
At the last EU-Russia meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, Wolfgang Schäuble, the German Minister of the Interior, also openly addressed the issue of the Russian security forces’ heavy-handed response to the demonstrations staged by the opposition in talks with his Russian counterpart, Rashid Nurgaliyev. Shortly after the Troika meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, the regular human-rights consultations with Russia also took place. During the German presidency, human-rights issues relating to Uzbekistan have also played a key role in the deliberations of the Subcommittee on Justice and Home Affairs.
Our last meeting with the United States focused sharply on the fight against terrorism, visa issues and issues of data protection, including the transmission of airline passenger data."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples