Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and his counterparts from Portugal, Rui Pereira, and Slovenia, Dragutin Mate, said that the first leg of the joint trio presidency had been a great success. On 1 January 2007, Germany took over the EU Council Presidency. On 1 July, the baton will be passed to Portugal, before Slovenia takes over for the first six months of 2008. For the first time in the EU’s history the three partners agreed a common 18-month work programme, before Germany assumed the Council Presidency.
Federal Interior Minister Schäuble emphasized:
“For the first time in its history, the European Union has a trio presidency. The team presidency represents both a special opportunity and obligation: This new form of cooperation offers the chance to set balanced European policy in the interest of all the Member States. It brings together states of different sizes, from different regions of Europe, thereby ensuring policy continuity in a larger European Union. It is safe to say that we have made good progress during the first leg of the trio presidency. We have moved forward on a number of issues under the German Council Presidency.
“For instance, we have reached political agreement to transpose the Prüm Treaty into the legal framework of the EU. This means that in the future Member States will grant one another automated access to their DNA and fingerprint data and to vehicle registration databases. With the entry into force of the Protocols amending the Europol Convention we will be able to adjust Europol to modern law enforcement requirements and to noticeably increase its efficiency. We have also brought about political agreement regarding the incorporation of Europol into the EU’s legal framework. In this context, Europol’s mandate will be extended to cover all forms of serious cross-border crime. We have managed to strengthen the European border management agency Frontex noticeably, which will translate into improved protection for the external borders. The amending regulation enables the agency to provide rapid border intervention teams to assist Member States particularly affected by illegal migration. Furthermore, guest officers may be given executive powers during Frontex-led missions. This will make joint measures much more effective. At the same time we managed to launch a coastal patrol network in the Mediterranean Sea and around the Canary Islands, and to set up a centralized record of surveillance planes, helicopters, ships, and technical equipment provided to Frontex by Member States. The negotiations concerning the Visa Information System have been concluded, which is a major step forward in the fight against illegal migration, helping in particular to prevent what is referred to as visa shopping. We furthermore stayed on schedule for the introduction of SISone4all. As a result, we will be able to remove checks at the borders with and between the new Member States starting at the end of the year. This is thanks to Portugal and the fact that it took over the relevant project management at the beginning of the year. Finally, we have managed to institutionalize the intercultural dialogue at the European level in the first six months of this year. And we have gone a major step in the right direction by setting up the Future Group to plan the home affairs policy agenda beyond 2010.
“All in all, we have achieved a lot during the first leg of the trio presidency. Portugal and Slovenia have intensively supported the German Council Presidency in the first six months of 2007. We have cooperated closely and on the basis of mutual trust. By the same token, we will support Portugal as part of the trio presidency once it takes the lead in a few days.”
Now it is important to follow up on several projects under the Portuguese Presidency. Apart from the introduction of SISone4all, progress is needed on the introduction of SIS II. The second generation of the Schengen Information System will bring major new features, such as the retention and communication of fingerprints and photos. It is scheduled to become operational in December 2008. Obviously, the process of transposing Prüm and Europol into the legal framework of the EU needs to be guided. The negotiations with the USA regarding PNR data need to be concluded. Data protection in the Third Pillar and the Removal Directive will continue to be part of the home affairs ministers' agenda; however, significant progress has already been made on these issues under the German Presidency. The global approach to migration has been extended to eastern and south-eastern regions; this move now needs to be implemented by Portugal and Slovenia. Cooperation with Africa will continue as a focus. Portugal is planning to host a conference of Mediterranean countries in November. Solving the refugee situation in the Mediterranean will continue to be high on the agenda.
New items on the Portuguese agenda will include the negotiation of the Directive on sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals, the Directive to cover the entry of highly skilled third-country nationals, and the development of the common asylum system.
