June

• 29.06.2007
  Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble: German Council Presidency a great success. Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that the German Council Presidency in the field of European home affairs policy was a great success. “We have accomplished a great deal under the German Council Presidency, also in the group of home affairs ministers. Our goal was to improve practical cooperation, for instance among the police and security authorities, but also in matters concerning immigration and the joint protection of the external borders.
• 27.06.2007
  The EU Presidency: Zypries Delivers Assessment. At its meeting today, the Federal Cabinet took stock of the results accomplished during the German Presidency of the European Union, which is now coming to a close. Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved in the field of justice. “In the future, Europe’s citizens will be better protected against racist and xenophobic abuse. They will enjoy more rights as rail passengers and as borrowers of credit. In the area of family law as well – particularly in maintenance and divorce matters – we have taken important strides toward establishing reliable and transparent rules that promote greater legal certainty for bi-national families. I would also have been pleased to conclude the negotiations on common minimum standards for accused persons in criminal proceedings. This is particularly true because, in the recent past, efforts to improve cooperation in criminal matters at the European level have concentrated primarily on improving states’ powers of intervention. Twenty-one Member States were determined to adopt these minimum standards. Unfortunately, six Member States refuse on grounds of principle to afford the European Union any influence over their national criminal procedure law.
• 26.06.2007
  Home affairs ministers of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia: First leg of the trio presidency a great success. 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.
• 22.06.2007
  The European public administrations get ready for demographic change. At the invitation of Germany’s Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, the EU ministers responsible for the public service and public administration and Siim Kallas, European Commission Vice-President for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud, met in Berlin on 21–22 June 2007 under the German EU Presidency. The informal meeting focused on the challenge of demographic change for the public service in the European Union’s Member States.
• 13.06.2007
  EU strives to improve cross-border cooperation in the supervision of sentences of probation. In the future, conditions of probation imposed upon criminal offenders are to be subject to supervision throughout the EU. Under the leadership of German Federal Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries, the EU Justice Ministers today reached agreement on the major cornerstones of a Framework Decision in that regard. The goal of the initiative, put forward jointly by Germany and France, is to improve cooperation in the cross-border supervision of sentences of probation and alternative sanctions (for example, community service work, providing reparations for damage caused, or participation in social training courses). This will strive to foster the re-socialisation of convicted persons, prevent recidivism, and thereby attain better protection of victims.
• 13.06.2007
  EU: Small claims easier to enforce across borders. In future, it will be easier to enforce cross-border claims up to EUR 2,000. Today the European Council of Ministers of Justice adopted the proposal for a Regulation creating a European Small Claims Procedure (the socalled Small Claims Regulation). “Legal redress in the European Union must not be allowed to stop at Member States’ borders because of bureaucratic hurdles or disproportionate costs. For this reason, court enforcement of cross-border claims must be further improved.
• 13.06.2007
  EU-wide networking of criminal records. In future, there is going to be EU-wide networking of the criminal records of EU Member States. Today agreement was reached by EU Ministers of Justice at their meeting in Luxembourg on a Framework Decision to regulate the exchange of information extracted from criminal records. As Council President, Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries said that “For the first time, we now have EU-wide uniform rules on so-called exchange of information extracted from criminal records. Provision in criminal proceedings as well as in other proceedings before public authorities of information taken from national criminal records for other states is being improved and expedited through new rules assuming a specific form“.
• 13.06.2007
  Informal Meeting of EU Ministers responsible for the Public Service and Public Administration (European Public Administration Network, EUPAN). At the invitation of the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, the EU Ministers responsible for the Public Service and Public Administration will meet in the framework of the German EU Council Presidency in Berlin on 22 June 2007. The meeting will also be attended by Vice-President Siim Kallas, the EU Commissioner responsible for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-fraud. The informal meeting will focus on the challenges to the public service in the European Union which result from demographic change.
• 12.06.2007
  EU home affairs ministers take important steps to strengthen freedom and security. The German EU Council Presidency was able to realize further important projects of its Presidency Programme at the last meeting of EU home affairs ministers. The ministers agreed to transpose major elements of the Prüm Treaty into the EU’s legal framework. In Luxembourg, Federal Minister Schäuble stated, “Transposing the treaty into EU legislation will enable all 27 EU Member States to benefit from the enormous added value provided by the treaty. Our aim is to create a modern police information network for more effective crime control throughout Europe. Furthermore, the Treaty will help to considerably step up operational police cooperation. Transposing the Prüm Treaty into EU legislation will add a new dimension to the cooperation of police authorities in Europe", Federal Minister Schäuble said.
• 12.06.2007
  Last JHA Council meeting under German Presidency in Luxembourg. On Tuesday, 12 June 2007, the home affairs ministers of the European Union met in Luxembourg for their last Council meeting under the German Presidency. Following the informal meeting of home affairs ministers in the German city of Dresden in mid-January and the first two formal Council meetings in Brussels on 15 February and in Luxembourg on 20 April, today’s meeting focused on implementing further measures contained in the Federal Interior Ministry’s work programme for the German EU Council Presidency. The ministers also achieved agreement with regard to the Regulation governing the Visa Information System (VIS) and the decision granting the security authorities and Europol access to the VIS, thus concluding the VIS negotiations, which have already taken several years.
• 11.06.2007
  EU Justice and Home Affairs Troika meeting with Ukraine in Luxembourg. The German EU Council Presidency, the European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini, and the Portuguese Justice and Interior Ministers, Alberto Costa and Rui Pereira, met with a Ukrainian delegation in Luxembourg on 11 June. The Ukrainian delegation was headed by Justice Minister Oleksandr V. Lavrynovych and Deputy Interior Minister Vasyl Marmazov. The current discussions focus primarily on the envisaged readmission agreement and a visa facilitation agreement scheduled to take effect before the end of this year. The parties also intend to step up cooperation through the recently begun negotiations about an extended agreement on partnership and cooperation. “As a direct neighbour with long common borders, Ukraine is of particular importance for the EU,” said Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

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May

• 30.05.2007
  “Work on E-Justice” – Opening of the European Conference on the use of IT in the Justice Sector. When opening the international conference in Bremen “Work on E-Justice” Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries said today that “Modern information and communication technology makes the justice system more efficient and helps citizens and businesses seeking justice get help more quickly and easily”. “In a European area of freedom, security and justice with porous borders, information technology-based support of the justice sector must not end at the internal borders. Today’s conference is sending the signal that in Europe we are cooperating more closely in this area as well”, continued Ms Zypries.
• 21.05.2007
  High-level group on the future of European home affairs policy after 2010 meets for the first time. At the invitation of Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble, the high-level advisory group on the future of European home affairs policy (Future Group), proposed by the German EU Presidency in January at the Informal Meeting of Home Affairs Ministers in Dresden, met for the first time in Eltville, Hesse, on 20-21 May 2007. The group consists of Vice-President Frattini, the six interior ministers of the current and upcoming trio presidencies (Germany, Portugal and Slovenia as well as France, the Czech Republic and Sweden), one representative from the subsequent trio presidency (Spain, Belgium or Hungary), and experts from individual Member States as needed. The group is to draft recommendations on European home affairs policy starting in 2010, after the Hague Programme ends, for options to increase the Council’s efficiency and to improve or simplify existing EU regulations.
• 16.05.2007
  More Legal Certainty for EU Citizens: Agreement on Rome II Regulation. The Conciliation Committee, composed of representatives of the European Parliament and the Council, reached agreement on a common draft for the Regulation on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II Regulation). In addition to torts, non-contractual obligations specifically include unjustified enrichment and doing business as an agent without authorisation. “In the future, uniform rules will apply to determine which law is applicable, for example in processing claims for compensation of damages resulting from a traffic accident where more than one legal system is affected due to the differing nationalities of those involved in the accident."
• 14.05.2007
  Close EU-US counterterrorism cooperation. Today, Federal Interior Minister Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, representing the EU Council Presidency, and US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff took part in an extraordinary meeting of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), to which they were invited by the European Parliament. The meeting of Secretary Chertoff with parliament members at the seat of the Euro-pean Parliament took place against a background of joint efforts to fight organized crime and international terrorism.
• 11.05.2007
  Greater cooperation among EU integration ministers, also on intercultural dialogue. The Member State ministers responsible for integration issues, European Union delegations and European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini agreed at their Informal Meeting in Potsdam, chaired by Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble, to work with each other more closely on integration issues. The ministers responsible for intercultural dialogue also agreed to greater cooperation in this field. Federal Minister Schäuble said the meeting had produced positive results: “Migration and integration have become an everyday experience in our globalized world. We will continue to face the phenomenon of constant and growing migration movements and related issues for the long term."
• 10.05.2007
  Informal Meeting of European Union Ministers Responsible for Integration. At the invitation of the German Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, the EU integration ministers are meeting in Potsdam today and tomorrow as part of the German EU Council Presidency. At the conference, ministers will discuss strengthening European cooperation and the exchange of experience within the EU regarding integration policy issues. On the second day, the subject of intercultural dialogue will be part of the agenda for the first time in the history of European ministerial conferences. Minister Schäuble underlined: “With regard to second- and third-generation descendants of immigrants living in Member States, achieving full integration and ensuring equal opportunities is one of the most important challenges of EU home affairs policy."

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April

• 30.04.2007
  Invitation to the Informal Meeting of EU Integration Ministers, Potsdam, 10 - 11 May 2007. At the invitation of the German Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, the EU ministers responsible for integration will meet in Potsdam on 10 and 11 May as part of the German EU Council Presidency. At the conference, ministers will discuss how European cooperation and the exchange of experience within the EU regarding integration policies can be improved and how the intercultural dialogue can be strengthened. Minister Schäuble: “With regard to second and third generation descendants of immigrants living in Member States, achieving full integration and ensuring equal opportunities is one of the most important challenges of EU home affairs policy. Although the term integration is often used with different meanings, our societies are facing the same challenges. A successful integration policy is an essential prerequisite for future immigration; it is crucial to preserving freedom and maintaining social cohesiveness."
• 24.04.2007
  Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble and Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries hold EU troika meetings in Moscow. In the framework of EU troika meetings, Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble and Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries, both representing the German Presidency, met the President’s security advisor, Victor Ivanov, and their Russian counterparts, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev and Justice Minister Vladimir Ustinov, for political talks on 23 and 24 April 2007. The EU Commission was represented by Vice-President Franco Frattini. The Portuguese Justice Minister, Alberto Costa, and State Secretary José Magalhães travelled to Moscow to represent the upcoming EU Presidency.
• 20.04.2007
  EU: Common Criminal Provisions Against Racism and Xenophobia. The Council of EU Justice Ministers in Luxembourg today achieved political agreement on a Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia. This allowed the negotiations at the European level, underway since 2001, to be successfully concluded under the German EU Presidency. “Europe is determined to forcefully defend its common values and to rigorously punish those who treat these values with contempt for humanity. In the future, there will be binding minimum harmonisation throughout Europe of the provisions on criminal liability for disseminating racist and xenophobic statements. Public incitement to violence and hatred, as well as the denial or gross trivialisation of genocide out of racist or xenophobic motives, will be sanctioned across Europe. With this, we are sending a clear signal against racism and intolerance,” stressed Brigitte Zypries, Chair of the EU Council of Justice Ministers.
• 20.04.2007
  Schengen and Visa Information System on schedule. The Schengen Information System, or SIS, is the most important common search system of European police and border police authorities. It allows them to obtain information related to alerts on persons and objects and to alerts issued for the purpose of refusing entry. Therefore it is necessary to connect the new EU Member States which have acceded to the EU since 1 May 2004 to the system in order for controls at the internal borders of these countries to be abolished. To this end, Member States’ home affairs ministers decided already last December to introduce “SISone4all”.
• 20.04.2007
  Interior Ministers strengthen European Border Management Agency Frontex in the fight against illegal migration. Against the background of recurring migration flows via the Mediterranean and the Atlantic towards Europe, the Council and the Commission consider it a priority to give Frontex the necessary means and competences for supporting the Member States under particular strain to tackle this challenge. Federal Interior Minister Dr. Schäuble said in Luxembourg that “the citizens expect Europe to provide effective protection of its common external borders. Therefore it is the declared aim of our Presidency to further develop the operability of the European Border Management Agency Frontex in order to improve the protection of the external borders of the European Union and intensify border police cooperation. This is why I am pleased to see that we have today succeeded in achieving agreement in the Council on the “Regulation establishing a mechanism for the creation of Rapid Border Intervention Teams”.
• 20.04.2007
  Prospects are good for a data protection framework decision, according to EU Council Presidency. Other important issues addressed by the EU home affairs ministers at their afternoon meeting today were the cooperation with third countries in migration-related matters and the envisaged European framework decision on data protection. Following up on discussions at their informal meeting in Dresden and the previous Council meeting in February, the ministers and vice-president Frattini again examined possible measures to improve cooperation with third countries with a view to fighting illegal migration. In line with the conclusions of the European Council of December 2006, they focussed on possible partnerships with third countries as well as measures to promote circular migration.
• 20.04.2007
  German Council Presidency welcomes the entry into force of the extension of Europol’s operational powers. In a ceremony today, Federal Minister of the Interior Dr Wolfgang Schäuble and the Vice-President of the European Commission, Mr Franco Frattini, handed over the three protocols amending the Europol Convention, which entered into force and have now been ratified by all Member States, to the Director of Europol, Max-Peter Ratzel. The amending protocols 1 and 2 of 2000 and 2002 had already entered into force on 29 March 2007; by contrast, the 3rd amending protocol of 2003 only entered into force on 18 April, two days before today’s meeting of the Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Luxembourg. The amending protocols will adapt Europol to the challenges of the modern fight against crime and will decisively increase its efficiency.
• 19.04.2007
  More Freedom of Choice for Spouses in Europe. The EU Ministers of Justice today agreed upon guiding principles which will form the basis of further deliberations on an EU Regulation on the jurisdiction and the applicable law in matrimonial matters (so-called Rome III Regulation). Council President and Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries said, “With the Rome III Regulation, we hope to achieve having courts in Europe always apply the same law to a divorce – independently of the Member State in which the couple files for divorce.
• 19.04.2007
  Maintenance Debtors Should No Longer Be Able to Hide Behind Borders. The Justice Ministers of the European Union today agreed that the cross-border recovery of maintenance claims within the European Union should be considerably facilitated. “Within Europe, maintenance debtors should no longer be able to hide behind borders,” said Brigitte Zypries, EU Council President and Federal Justice Minister. “Those entitled to maintenance – especially children – should be able to recover their claims effectively even if the maintenance debtor lives in another Member State of the European Union or if his assets are located there. Thus, future judgments in maintenance cases issued, for example, by a German court are to be enforceable in France or other Member States of the European Union without any additional procedural steps. Furthermore, EU citizens are to receive even more support from public authorities if they experience difficulties in recovering their claims in another Member State.”
• 19.04.2007
  Justice and Home Affairs Council decides to set up a warning and reporting network for the expulsion of terrorist suspects. In Luxembourg, the Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers has today decided to set up a mutual information mechanism on third-country nationals who have been expelled by a Member State in connection with terrorist activities as well as incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence.
• 19.04.2007
  Easy Access to the Law in Europe. At their Council meeting in Luxembourg, the European Ministers of Justice have advocated strengthening the European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters (EJN). The EJN provides information about important regulations in the national civil and civil procedure law of the Member States, as well as on the structure of their courts and court jurisdiction. German Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries said, “Within a short period of time, the EJN has become an important source of information for the citizens of Europe. Those who live and work in a European foreign country must be able to inform themselves about the laws of the other Member States. The EJN is indispensable for judges as well. More and more often, judges are required to apply foreign law rather than deciding a case based upon their national law. The EJN enables them to quickly and cheaply receive the information they need via e-mail.”
• 16.04.2007
  Federal Ministry of the Interior and Frontex pursue common goal. At an international symposium on the future of European border police cooperation, Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble and Frontex Executive Director Ilkka Laitinen underscored the need for joint, coordinated action at European level in order to protect the EU external borders effectively. “One of the declared aims of our Presidency is to further develop the capacity of the European border management agency Frontex, in order to enhance the protection of the European Union’s external borders and to deepen border police cooperation,” Federal Minister Schäuble stated.
• 11.04.2007
  Presidency response to the press release of the European Data Protection Supervisor. In his opinion sent to the Federal Government on 4 April 2007, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Peter Hustinx, welcomes the creation of a legal basis for closer police cooperation at EU level and expressly endorses the anonymized approach using reference data (hit/no-hit procedure) on which the Prüm Treaty is based. He also praises the fact that data protection provisions are differentiated according to data type.
• 05.04.2007
  EU and US discuss freedom of travel and data protection for transatlantic passengers, agree on counter-terrorism cooperation. US Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, US Assistant Attorney General Kenneth L. Wainstein and European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini met today in Berlin with Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble and Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries of Germany, current holder of the rotating EU Presidency. The Portuguese state secretaries of justice and internal affairs, José Conde Rodrigues and Dr José Madalhães, represented the upcoming Portuguese EU Presidency. Their talks focused on counter-terrorism, data protection and visa issues as well as EU policy in the field of criminal law.
• 04.04.2007
  European Union, USA and Russia discuss shared issues of internal security. Representatives from Russia, the United States and the European Commission met today in Berlin at the invitation of Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, Federal Minister of the Interior of Germany, current holder of the EU Presidency. Their discussion focused on counter-terrorism, border management and on the situation in Afghanistan, in particular the fight against drugs as a way to increase that country’s stability. Minister Schäuble stated, “Our trilateral meeting took place in the context of growing interrelatedness between internal and external security. The terrorist attacks of recent years show that conflicts in other parts of the world can also directly affect us. The special dimension of the terrorist threat is particularly evident in the terrorists’ willingness to use violence, in their logistical networks, their long-term planning and cross-border methods of operation.
• 04.04.2007
  European Community Accedes to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Yesterday in The Hague, German Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries deposited the instrument of accession of the European Community to the Hague Conference on Private International Law. “International commercial relations are continually increasing. Europe’s citizens are becoming increasingly mobile as well; more and more people are living and working not only in other Member States but outside the EU as well. Given these developments, we need clear rules on how claims may be asserted beyond the borders of the European Union. Despite differing legal systems, our aim is to attain the greatest possible degree of legal certainty and transparency, for both private individuals and companies. With today’s accession to the Hague Conference, the European Community will be able to bring these interests of EU citizens directly into the negotiations on future Hague Conventions,” stated Ms. Zypries.

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March

• 29.03.2007
  “A Europe of Innovation – Fit for the Future?” - European Patent Conference Convenes. “Inventions are the raw material of the knowledge society. In Europe, we urgently need more innovations that are designed to meet the challenges of the future. This requires that we provide more effective patent protection”, declared Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries in Berlin today at the opening of the international conference “A Europe of Innovation – Fit for the Future?” Over 250 participants from government, industry, the justice sector, patent institutions and non-governmental organisations are attending the two-day event, which is taking place within the framework of Germany’s EU Presidency.
• 21.03.2007
  Federal Minister of the Interior Dr Wolfgang Schäuble: “Positive mid-term review of the German EU Council Presidency”. Prior to the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, the Federal Minister of the Interior gave a positive report of the progress made so far under the German Council Presidency. On Wednesday, Federal Minster Wolfgang Schäuble invited the Berlin-based ambassadors of the EU Member States and the candidate countries to a discussion about the domestic policy issues pursued by the EU Council Presidency. With regard to the mid-term review Interior Minister Schäuble said:
• 21.03.2007
  Minister Zypries welcomes European Ombudsman. Within the context of the German EU Presidency, Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries welcomed the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamondouros, for talks today at the Federal Ministry of Justice. “This meeting provides an excellent opportunity to speak with the European Ombudsman about his work and about the importance of a citizen-friendly administration at both the Community and Member State levels,” stated Ms Zypries.
• 13.03.2007
  EU sport ministers agree to forge a network of national anti-doping agencies. On the final day of the informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for sport chaired by the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, ministers and delegations from 26 EU Member States and EU Commissioner Ján Figel’ discussed the issues of sport and integration and anti-doping policies. “The meeting was held in a very constructive atmosphere. We, the ministers responsible for sport, made significant progress in various fields”, Schäuble said.
• 12.03.2007
  Interior Minister Schäuble welcomes the EU-wide introduction of the sport satellite account and intensified cross-border police operations. At the informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for sport chaired by Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, participants today discussed issues in the fields of “sport and economics” and “sport and violence”. EU Commissioner Ján Figel’ took part in the discussions. At the opening session the president and vice-president of the World Cup Organizing Committee, Franz Beckenbauer and Wolfgang Niersbach, reported on the 2006 Football World Cup.
• 12.03.2007
  Interior Minister Schäuble opens the informal meeting of EU sport ministers. On Monday afternoon, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, opened the informal meeting of EU sport ministers in Stuttgart under Germany’s EU Council Presidency. “Sport has a huge social impact and represents values. Together we want to strengthen the role of sport in Europe and resolutely fight threats such as violence and doping”, Schäuble said at the beginning of the two-day meeting in the capital of Baden-Württemberg. Delegations and ministers from 26 Member States followed the invitation of the German sports minister. Ján Figel’, the EU Commissioner responsible for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism, also attends the meeting.

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February

• 22.02.2007
  Federal Ministry of the Interior and FRONTEX pursue common goal: Strengthening border management agency FRONTEX to fight illegal migration at EU’s external borders. Peter Altmaier, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Brigadier General Ilkka Laitinen, Executive Director of the European border management agency FRONTEX, and Lieutenant General Minze Beuving, chair of the FRONTEX Management Board, were briefed at Frankfurt Airport on an operation currently under way to combat illegal migration at the EU’s external borders. This year’s first FRONTEX operation concerning migration by air focuses on illegal migration from South America.
• 19.02.2007
  EU: Electronic Voting at General Meetings will Soon be Possible. In future, shareholders of listed companies in EU Member States will be able to cast their votes by electronic means as well, under a new EU Directive which requires Member States to adapt their national legislation accordingly. Council President Brigitte Zypries was today able to report to her European colleagues at the Competitiveness Council that the European Parliament recently gave its approval to the proposal that was agreed upon by the Council in January. "The possibility of voting by electronic means strengthens the position of small investors and thus prevents random majorities. Moreover, the new rules will contribute to the further integration and continued stability of the European capital market," Ms Zypries stated in Brussels.
• 15.02.2007
  Agreement on a pan-European network of police databases for more effective crime control. At their meeting in Brussels on Thursday, 15 February, the council of European Union justice and home affairs ministers agreed on incorporating the main provisions of the Prüm Treaty into the EU ’s legal framework. The resulting draft decision is to be forwarded without delay to the European Parliament for its comments, meaning that the process of incorporating the treaty into EU legislation could be completed before the German Presidency ends on June 30.
• 15.02.2007
  Procedure to transfer EU citizens sentenced abroad to serve their sentence in their home country to be made more straightforward. The Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers today reached agreement on the general approach of a Framework Decision which will enhance the mutual recognition and enforcement among Member States of judgments in criminal matters imposing custodial sentences or other measures involving deprivation of liberty. Under the Framework Decision, it will in future be possible for sentenced persons to be transferred to serve their sentence in their EU country of nationality without having to give their consent, provided that they are habitually resident in that country and have family, social or other ties there.
• 15.02.2007
  Home Affairs Ministers want to further strengthen the European border management agency FRONTEX and cooperate closely with countries of origin and transit on migration issues. Given the anticipated migration rise in this spring via the sea towards Europe and the related risks to the life of numerous people, the EU home affairs ministers and European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini consider it essential to cooperate closely on migration issues with countries of origin and transit at the EU’s southern and eastern borders. At the same time, surveillance of the EU’s external borders is to be stepped up. To this end, the European border management agency FRONTEX must be given the necessary means and competences.
• 15.02.2007
  EU Agency for fundamental rights is due to take up its work on 1 March 2007. The Regulation establishing the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights was today approved in its final form by the Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers. Following a political agreement under the Finnish Presidency in December 2006, the final versions of the texts could now be formally adopted in all languages. Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries stated, “The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the successor to the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, will take up its work in Vienna on 1 March 2007. It will become a European centre of competence for fundamental rights, and will continue the previous activities of the Monitoring Centre. The decision to establish a European Fundamental Rights Agency underscores the significance accorded by the EU to respect for European fundamental rights. Its creation follows directly from the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

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January

• 30.01.2007
  German Presidency programme discussed with European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs. Within the framework of the German EU Presidency, Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries today paid a visit to the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI). Minister Zypries took this occasion to discuss the German Presidency Programme with the Committee members. “Today’s meeting allows us to continue our discussions – which already got underway with individual Committee members in Berlin in early January – concerning current legislative initiatives which Germany wishes to make progress on during its Presidency. I look forward to constructive cooperation with our colleagues in the European Parliament and hope to receive their support,” Ms. Zypries stated in Brussels.
• 30.01.2007
  Federal Minister of Justice Zypries: “Virtual general meetings” throughout Europe enhance the rights of shareholders. The EU Member States will soon be required to provide listed companies with the opportunity to open their general meetings for online participation. This is mandated by a new Directive which has been agreed upon in Brussels by the European Parliament and the Council, currently under German chairmanship. The European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) today approved a text previously accepted in the Council by the Member States. The EU Council President, Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries, visited the Committee today and strongly advocated the compromise negotiated under her leadership.
• 29.01.2007
  Outlawing Racism and Xenophobia Throughout Europe. In view of Germany’s particular historic responsibility, the German EU Presidency has committed itself to returning the combating of racism and xenophobia throughout Europe to the political agenda. It will revive the negotiations on the Framework Decision to combat racism and xenophobia, which have been frozen since 2005. Under the Luxembourg Presidency, the Framework Decision was on the verge of a compromise. The goal is to attain minimum harmonisation of provisions on criminal liability for disseminating racist and xenophobic statements. These include, for example, public incitement to violence and hatred or the denial or gross minimisation of genocide out of racist or xenophobic motives. However, the Framework Decision will not seek to prohibit specific symbols such as swastikas.
• 24.01.2007
  The Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble: The German EU Presidency will work closely with the European Parliament. At the meeting of the European Parliamentary Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) in Brussels on Wednesday, 24 January 2007, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, presented the home affairs policy work programme, “Living Europe Safely”, for the German EU Council Presidency in the first half of 2007
• 16.01.2007
  e-Justice in Europe: The Cross-border Use of Information Technology in the Justice Sector. At their informal meeting in Dresden, the Ministers of Justice of the European Union have agreed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the cross-border support of the justice sector through information and communication technology (e-justice) and to intensify cooperation in this field. “In a European area of freedom, security and justice with porous borders, information technology-based support of the justice sector must not end at the internal borders. As the internet demonstrates, information technology serves to overcome borders. To varying extents, all EU Member States successfully employ information and communication technology as a means to support justice sector activities, or plan to do so in the near future. .."
• 15.01.2007
  Providing impetus for future European home affairs policy starting in 2010. At the informal meeting of EU ministers in Dresden, Germany’s federal minister of the interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, presented a plan to convene a high-level advisory group made up of the vice president of the European Commission, the six interior ministers of the current and upcoming trio presidencies (Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, as well as France, the Czech Republic and Sweden) and research experts from individual Member States as needed.
• 15.01.2007
  Interior ministers want to work closely with countries of origin and transit on migration issues. At their informal meeting in Dresden, the interior ministers of the EU Member States announced their intent to work closely on migration issues with the countries of origin and transit at the EU’s eastern and southern borders. To do so, they will look into the possibility of partnership agreements between individual Member States and third countries regarding migration and development. Further, they will examine how best to take advantage of the positive effects of circular and temporary migration between the EU and third countries. The ministers reaffirmed that protecting the common external borders and combating illegal migration remained their highest priority.
• 15.01.2007
  Informal Meeting of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs: Greater Legal Certainty for Families in Europe. The Ministers of Justice of the European Union met today to discuss the future of judicial cooperation in the fields of family law and the law of succession. "We all agree that we have made significant progress in recent years regarding the question of jurisdiction and the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments. Our task now is to continue along this path. International family relationships are constantly on the increase in Europe and, consequently, the number of conflicts in the fields of family law and the law of succession is inevitably also growing. It is therefore our intention to further accelerate cross-border proceedings," JHA Council President Brigitte Zypries, Federal Minister of Justice, stated in Dresden.
• 15.01.2007
  Informal Meeting of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs: Home affairs ministers back initiative to create a pan-European network of police databases for more effective crime control. At the informal meeting of EU home affairs ministers in Dresden today, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, presented an initiative to transpose the Prüm Treaty into the legal framework of the EU by drafting EU legislation using the exact wording of the Prüm Treaty. The treaty, which was signed by seven European states (Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain) in the town of Prüm, provides for greater cross-border cooperation of police and judicial authorities, particularly in...
• 14.01.2007
  First EU Trio Presidency of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers Gets Under Way. For the first time, three Member States, Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, have agreed on a joint work programme for their EU presidencies over the next 18 months. This trio of presidencies started on 1 January 2007 with Germany’s EU presidency, to be followed by Portugal and Slovenia. Ahead of the Informal Meeting of Justice and Home Affairs which starts in the evening, representatives of the trio presidency, the interior ministers Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, Antonio Costa and Dragutin Mate and justice ministers Brigitte Zypries, Alberto Bernardes Costa and Lovro Sturm, discussed their work at a meeting which also included the vice president of the European Commission, Franco Frattini.
• 09.01.2007
  Informal EU Ministers’ Meetings in Germany Begin with the Conference of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Dresden. The Justice and Home Affairs Ministers of the European Union will be meeting in Dresden from January 14-16, chaired by Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries and Federal Minister of the Interior Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble. Sixty-five ministers have announced their participation. They will be accompanied by approximately 260 delegation members. Media interest is unusually intense: Almost 500 journalists from throughout Europe have been accredited for the press programme.
• 03.01.2007
  The Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble: “Citizens should live safely in Europe”. At a federal press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, 3 January 2007, the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, presented the domestic policy work programme, “Living Europe Safely”, for the German EU Council Presidency in the first half of 2007. To start off the informal ministerial meetings during the German EU Presidency, the EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs will gather in Dresden from 14 to 16 January 2007. The meeting will be chaired by the Federal Minister of Justice, Brigitte Zypries, and the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble.
• 01.01.2007
  Letter of condolence from the German Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr Wolfgang Schäuble, after the sudden death of Austrian Minister of the Interior Liese Prokop. Following the unexpected death of the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Austria, Liese Prokop, on the evening of 31 December 2006, the German Federal Minister of the Interior and President of the Council of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble, on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Council of EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers, expressed the sympathy of the Federal Government in a letter of condolence addressed to the Austrian Federal Chancellor, Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel, on 1 January 2007.
• 21.12.2006
  Informal Meeting of Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs. The first informal meeting of ministers under the German EU Presidency will be held by EU Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs in Dresden from 14 to 16 January 2007. The meeting will be chaired by the Federal Minister of Justice, Brigitte Zypries, and the Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr. Wolfgang Schäuble.

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