US embassy cable - 04BRUSSELS4619

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 004619 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DHS FOR IAO, BORDER PATROL 
DOJ FOR CRM 
ROME ALSO FOR INS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER, SMIG, PREF, CMGT, CVIS, KCRM, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT:  NEW EU PROGRAM FOR FREEDOM, SECURITY AND 
JUSTICE TO BE ENDORSED BY LEADERS ON NOV 5 
 
REF: USEU BRUSSELS 3101 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1.  EU Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) 
on October 25 reached broad agreement on a new multi- 
annual program for strengthening freedom, security 
and justice in the EU for the next five years.  The 
prevention and repression of terrorism will be a key 
element of the plan, which provides for an 
"innovative approach" to the cross-border exchange 
of law-enforcement information, to be governed, 
under certain conditions, by the "principle of 
availability."  The plan will be endorsed at the 
November 4-5 European Council, when EU leaders will 
be called to decide whether the Council should move 
to qualified-majority voting and co-decision with 
the European Parliament for all asylum and migration 
decisions by April 1, 2005.  The Dutch Presidency 
draft provides for the establishment of a Common 
European Asylum System by 2010.  A rapid reaction 
force of national experts to assist with the control 
and surveillance of the EU external borders could 
"ultimately be converted into a European corps of 
border guards."  The draft also provides for minimum 
standards for national identity cards and for 
further development of judicial cooperation in 
criminal and civil law matters.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  The October 25 JHA Council completed its 
preparations for a new multi-annual program of EU 
measures to strengthen "justice, security and 
freedom" in the Union.  The plan, based on 
discussions at the September 30 - October 1 informal 
JHA in The Hague/Scheveningen, will be endorsed as 
the so-called "The Hague program" at the European 
Council meeting on November 4-5.  Dutch officials 
said EU leaders would have to solve persisting 
differences on further moves from unanimity for 
Council decisions in JHA matters.  The Dutch draft 
contains language requiring a switch to qualified- 
majority voting (QMV) and co-decision with the 
European Parliament for allasylum and migration 
policy measures by April 2005.  The UK, Ireland and 
Denmark invoke a "legal exemption" (opt-out) to 
resist the proposal but other countries, including 
Germany, are said to be hesitant. 
 
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND COUNTER-TERRORISM 
 
3.  Speaking to the press, Dutch Justice Minister 
Donner and other Dutch officials described the new 
plan, which is building on the 1999 "Tampere 
program" of EU JHA activities, as both ambitious and 
practical.  Donner highlighted the plan's provisions 
on the cross-border exchange of law-enforcement 
information as an "important step forward."  The 
draft's section on "strengthening security" calls 
for an "innovative approach," saying cross-border 
exchange of law-enforcement information should be 
governed, under certain conditions, by the 
"principle of availability."  The implication is 
that, effective January 2008, "a law enforcement 
officer in one Member State who needs information" 
to perform his duties "can obtain this from another 
Member State" and that the law enforcement agency in 
the other Member State that holds that information 
"will make it available for the stated purpose." 
Without prejudice to work in progress -- a reference 
to the draft Framework Decision on simplifying 
information and intelligence between law enforcement 
authorities of the EU Member States, the draft tasks 
the Commission to submit proposals by the end of 
2005 for the implementation of the principle of 
availability.  Spanish Interior Minister Alonso was 
particularly pleased, saying information would "flow 
directly, immediately and without obstacles when one 
country requests it from another."  EU officials 
made it clear that other ministers failed to display 
the same enthusiasm. 
 
4.  Noting the "new urgency" arising of 9/11 and the 
03/11/04 attacks in Madrid, the Dutch draft 
recognizes that EU citizens expect "a more 
effective, joint approach to cross-border problems" 
such as terrorism, organized crime, illegal 
migration and the smuggling of human beings.  The 
prevention and repression of terrorism will be a key 
element of the new program and the common approach 
"should be based on the principle that preserving 
national security requires that full account is 
taken of the security of the Union as a whole."  In 
Donner's words, "the security of one Member State 
contains the security of the other Member States" 
and "rules to protect public security in one country 
can also be used to protect public security in other 
countries." 
 
5.  The program calls for full implementation of the 
March 2004 EU Declaration and Action Plan on 
combating terrorism.  Effective January 1, 2005, the 
SitCen located within the EU Council should provide 
"strategic analysis of the terrorist threat based on 
intelligence from Member States' intelligence and 
security services and, where appropriate, on 
information provided by EUROPOL."  The Council and 
the EU CT Coordinator are tasked to develop, by the 
end of 2005, "a long-term strategy to address the 
factors which contribute to the radicalization and 
recruitment for terrorist activities." 
 
TOWARD A COMMON EUROPEAN ASYLUM SYSTEM 
 
6.  The draft calls on the EU and its Member States 
to develop a "comprehensive approach" covering all 
stages of migration, from its root causes to entry, 
integration and return policies.  The new phase in 
the establishment of a common EU policy in the field 
of asylum, migration and borders "should be based on 
solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility," 
including in "its financial implications."  The aims 
of the Common European Asylum System will be the 
establishment of a common asylum procedure and a 
uniform status for those who are granted asylum or 
subsidiary protection.  The Council and Commission 
should establish in 2005 "appropriate structures 
involving the national asylum services of the Member 
States with a view to facilitating practical 
cooperation."  Following the establishment of a 
common asylum procedure by the end of 2010, these 
structures would be transformed into a European 
office "to assist all forms of cooperation between 
Member States relating to the Common European Asylum 
System."  The draft further tasks the Commission to 
"look into the merits" and "feasibility of the joint 
processing of asylum applications outside EU 
territory."  The EU will provide support for 
capacity building, border control and wider 
cooperation on migration issues to "those countries 
that demonstrate a genuine commitment to fulfill the 
obligations under the Geneva Convention on Refugees" 
(watered down from an earlier version that required 
countries to "keep their obligations" under the 
Convention). 
 
7.  The plan tasks the Council to establish teams of 
national experts to "provide rapid technical and 
operational assistance" to Member States for the 
control and surveillance of the EU external borders. 
The question of whether such teams of national 
experts can "ultimately be converted into a European 
corps of border guards" would be part of a 2007 
review of the tasks of the European Agency for the 
management of cooperation at the EU external borders 
to be established on May 1, 2005.  The leaders will 
also task the Council and Commission to draw up a 
plan in 2005 to develop "common standards, best 
practices and mechanisms to prevent and combat 
trafficking in human beings." 
 
BIOMETRICS AND VISA POLICY 
 
8.  The draft calls on the Council, Commission and 
Member States to pursue their efforts to integrate 
biometric identifiers in travel documents, visas, 
residence permits, EU citizen's passports and 
information systems, and to prepare for the 
development of minimum standards for national 
identity cards.  A common visa policy will be 
developed through further harmonization of national 
legislation and handling practices at local consular 
missions.  Common visa offices would be established 
in the long term, taking account of discussions on 
the establishment of an EU external action service 
as envisaged under the EU Constitution.   The draft 
tasks the Commission to submit in 2005 a proposal on 
the establishment of common application centers and 
calls for the swift implementation of the Visa 
Information System (VIS) "starting with the 
incorporation of among others alphanumeric data and 
photographs by the end of 2006 and biometrics by the 
end of 2007 at the latest." 
 
POLICE AND JUDICIAL COOPERATION 
 
9.  The program calls on the EU Member States to 
enable EUROPOL in cooperation with EUROJUST (EU 
Prosecutors' Office) to "play a key role in the 
fight against serious cross-border (organized) crime 
and terrorism by providing all necessary information 
to EUROPOL in good time."  Member States are pressed 
to set up joint investigative teams.  The Council 
and Commission will set up "within the existing 
structures an integrated EU crisis management 
arrangement for cross-border crises" to be 
implemented by July 1, 2006. 
 
10.  The program also calls for EU judicial 
cooperation in criminal and civil matters to be 
enhanced by "strengthening mutual trust" and the 
"progressive development of a European judicial 
culture."  This should be achieved through exchange 
programs and the creation of a European training 
network for judicial authorities.  The program calls 
for full completion of the program of EU measures to 
implement the principle of mutual recognition of 
judicial decisions in both criminal and civilian 
matters.  The draft will refer to preparations for 
the establishment of a European Public Prosecutors' 
Office at EUROJUST, as provided under the EU 
Constitutional Treaty, but Donner said the exact 
wording on this controversial point remained subject 
to amendments.  The Commission will be tasked to 
table legal instruments regarding family and 
succession law for completion by 2011. 
 
EXTERNAL ASPECTS AND NEXT STEPS 
 
11.  The leaders will task the Council SG/HighRep to 
present to the Council, by the end of 2005, a 
strategy encompassing all external aspects of EU 
policy on freedom, security and justice.  The 
strategy should reflect the EU's "special relations 
with third countries, groups and regions" but an 
earlier, more specific reference to relations with 
the U.S., Russia and the Balkans has been dropped 
from the text. 
 
12.  The new European Strategy on Drugs 2005-2012, 
to be adopted at the December 17-18 European 
Council, will be added to the multi-annual program. 
In adopting the Hague program next week, the EU 
leaders will task the Commission to present an 
Action Plan in 2005, in which the aims and 
priorities of the program will be translated into 
concrete actions, with a timetable for their 
adoption and implementation.  The Commission will 
present to the Council an annual evaluation report 
("scoreboard") on the implementation of the Hague 
program. 
 
FAREWELL TO VITORINO 
 
13.  Outgoing JHA Commissioner Vitorino told his 
final Council press conference he fully backed the 
efforts of the Dutch Presidency to extend the use of 
QMV in JHA matters but cautioned this was "not a 
magic solution" as the EU would still have to 
overcome differences in the legal cultures of its 
individual Member States.  Looking back to his five 
years in office, Vitorino assured that the EU had 
been able to maintain a "fair balance between 
justice, security and freedom."  He expressed hope 
that the same equilibrium would be maintained in the 
implementation of the new program.  Pressed to offer 
his advice to JHA Commissioner-designate 
Buttiglione, Vitorino said the Commission "should be 
part of the solution, not of the problem." 
MCKINLEY