European Commission
Malmström

Confiscated land

I’m traveling in Apulia in southern Italy, where I’m visiting various projects financed by funds confiscated from the Mafia. In between villages in the beautiful countryside between Bari and Brindisi, we saw houses and large country estates previously owned by Mafia bosses which have now been turned into agricultural cooperatives where local young people can find work growing and selling biological products. The Mafia’s criminal assets are reclaimed by the people along with the orgainsation’s territory, which is so vital to their control over local communities.

Luxury villas are made into homes for young people in need of support, night clubs turned into youth clubs and music centers for disabled children and properties into museums, etc. Much of this is driven by the Libera network and the involvement from the civil society in this area is enormous. It is a daily struggle to show that the anti-Mafia is more powerful than the Mafia itself.

There is still much work to be done and the fight against organised crime is hampered by widespread corruption, but the activity we’ve seen today is truly impressive. Many of the projects are also supported financially by the EU.

Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer who stood as a witness in a massive fraud case against the Russian state. One month after the trial, Magnitsky was arrested by those same government officials involed in the corrupt scheme. He was detentained for 358 days without trial and died of torture on 16 November 2009.

I was one of the first to raise this case internationally, in the spring of 2010. I raised it with the Russian Minister of Interior in a meeting, and it was therefore most welcome that the Russian President Medvedev called for an investigation of his death. The investigation concluded that Magnitsky died in prison due to torture.

The Russian authorities have decided to re-open the criminal case against Magnitsky even though he is dead and not able to defend himself. I am amazed that since the investigation concluded that he died due to torture, no one has been convicted. And it gets even worse with the decision to reopen the criminal case against Magnitsky two years after his death and by summoning his mother.

It is extremely important that this unresolved case is brought to a clear conclusion and that justice is brought to Magnitsky.

The fight against organised crime and terrorism is now being stepped up even more with today’s adoption by the international task force against money laundering and financing of terrorism, FATF, on new global standards. The new standards entail recommendations which all members of the FATF should implement in order to combat money laundering and financing of terrorism, for example better collaboration between countries and tighter regulation of electronic transactions. The FATF has also proposed tougher recommendations on addressing corruption and tax crimes.

Better cooperation at a global level is crucial and most welcome in the fight against organised crime and terrorism. The Commission is now preparing proposals to incorporate the new standards in existing EU legislation, which include the Third Anti-Money Laundering Directive and a Framework Decision from 2001 on criminal offences for money laundering.

Corruption destroys a country from within, undermining trust in democratic institutions, weakening the accountability of political leadership and playing into the hands of organised crime groups. According to a new Eurobarometer survey presented today, almost three-quarters of respondents said that they see corruption as a major problem, that it exists at all levels of government. Eight percent of respondents say they have been asked or expected to pay a bribe in the past year. You’ll find the survey here.

Although the nature and scope of corruption varies among EU countries, no country is spared.  It means huge costs for society – not least the cost of underminig the credibility of politics and democracy. Anti-corruption efforts must be intensified mainly by Member States, but also at EU level. Last June, the Commission adopted a corruption package, calling for a stronger focus on corruption in all relevant EU policies. In 2013 we will also publish a report on anti-corruption measures in all 27 EU Member States on what works and what doesn’t, as well as offering suggestions for improvements.

New legislation to tackle corruption i.e. reform of public procurement rules, more advanced statistics on crimes and enhanced anti-fraud policies is also to be expected from the Commission. The proposal on increased harmonization on confiscation of criminals assets, which I will present in a few weeks, is also part of the overall anti-corruption efforts at EU level.

February 10th, 2010, was my first day as EU Commissioner. Two full years into my mandate, I can easily say that this has been two tough years. The economic crisis, with high levels of unemployment, has overshadowed all other policy areas. The Arab Spring has brought new hopes of democratic neighbours but also raised new challenges for them and for us.  They have clearly indicated the desire to cooperate with us on issues like migration, asylum, police, security and visa facilitation. This is also in our interest and therefore we are now preparing mobility partnerships with countries in the North African region, starting with Tunisia.

The events in southern Mediterranean have put pressure on the Schengen system, and in September last year I presented a proposal on how Schengen can be strengthened, safeguarding this fantastic achievement, but making sure that we improve our evaluation systems and minimize the risk of abuses. Negotiations are ongoing.

Since February 2010 we have advanced quite a lot in the work on the asylum package, although many difficulties remain. The deadline set by the European council, is 2012. We urgently need a system that is common in Europe, allowing asylum seekers to get the same treatment wherever they launch their application. Today, ten countries receive 90% of the asylum applications in the EU. With all countries having an administration and infrastructure in place, it will allow for a more even responsibility and solidarity between EU members.

We have adopted the long term residence directive, as well as the qualification direction and are very close to an agreement on the European Resettlement Program. The Asylum Support Office (EASO) in Malta is up and running, mainly assisting Greece where all member states, the commission and many others are involved to help the country to set up a reception system as well as build up a functioning border control. All member states participated in the Frontex/led RABIT-operation at the Greek/Turkish border.

In the field of legal migration we have agreement on the single permit and are well advanced in the directives on seasonal workers and Intra Corporate Transferees. This will protect legal migrants but also reduce bureaucracy in the member states. With my college Lazlo Andor we are planning further initiatives on labour skills needed for the future, including the need for further labour migration. In times where growth is desperately needed, we must make sure that we can get the best skills.

We have lifted the visa obligation for Albania and Bosnia and also started the dialogue with Kosovo, enabling easier people to people contact. Visa facilitation negotiations are ongoing with Russia, Moldova, Ukraine and soon hopefully with Turkey and Georgia.

In the security area I am most proud of the anti-trafficking directive that gives us better tools to fight this horrible modern slavery. With the employment of our anti-trafficking coordinator at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Home Affairs, I think we are better equipped than ever. Also, the directive on combating sexual violence and abuse of children is very dear to my heart and will help us to better protect the most vulnerable; our children.

In September last year I inaugurated RAN, the network that will help us prevent and identify violent radicalisation and extremism. The network is connecting local actors from all over Europe – academics, social workers, teachers, victims, and others to exchange information and best practices to prevent young people from falling into violent extremism. We have concluded negotiations on Passenger Name Records (PNR) with Australia and the U.S. and also put forward a proposal on a European PNR.

Corruption is a disease that eats confidence and trust and also erodes the legal economy. Last year I launched an anticorruption package, aiming for a report next year with tailor-made recommendations to all member states. To protect the licit economy is important, as well as restoring trust.

So a lot has been done since February 2010, but many things still remain. I am looking forward to all the possibilities and challenges of the rest of my mandate.

I am in Pristina, Kosovo for two days. The purpose of the visit is to launch a visa dialogue with the country. All Balkan countries today, except for Kosovo, enjoy visa freedom with the EU. Being able to visit family and friends or go for a holiday or a business trip without having to go through complicated visa procedures, is an excellent way to increase people to people contact. My aim is to remove as many visa requirements with countries outside the EU as possible.

In order for visa freedom to work, there are of course conditions. We require (as all countries do) that the country in question has a well functioning border control, that they fight corruption and organized crime, that there are proper asylum procedures in place etc. Kosovo has just fulfilled the first conditions for initiating a dialogue, which I launched today with the Prime Minister Thaci.

The next step is to develop a so-called Roadmap where further areas of reform will be listed. With that list, which must be approved by the Council of Ministers, we can then start the real negotiations. It will probably take some time but from the Commission side, we will do everything possible to support reforms, which also involves a consolidation of the democratic development of the country.

I have also met with several Ministers, I have visited the EULEX (the EU rule of law mission in Kosovo) and visited a centre for rehabilitation of trafficking victims. It was very emotional talking to the girls at the centre who are now getting help returning to normal life after the horrific experience.

Tonight awaits a dinner with a number of representatives of civil society, journalists, NGOs, etc.

The Swedish National Police today released a report of the human trafficking situation in Sweden. The report points out that while there has been increase in forced labour and begging, sex trafficking has been reduced. According to the police, one of the reasons for the decline is “the tireless efforts to combat sex trafficking.” It is very gratifying to see that the number of human trafficking crimes for sexual purposes has been reduced and I am confident that the Swedish legislation on the purchase of sexual services contributes greatly to this. At the same time it is terrible to see human trafficking for other purposes, such as forced labour, has increased. Forced labour has received increasing attention lately and it appears to be increasing across Europe. This is a lucrative business, and unfortunately perceived as a relatively low risk crime given that so very few traffickers are convicted. We are currently reviewing the EU legislation to see how it can be updated to better combat this type of crime.

Today I met with Colin Predoiu, the Romanian Minister of Justice. We have met several times and I know that he works hard in Romania to strengthen the independence of the judiciary and fight against corruption – sometimes it’s an uphill battle. We talked about recent work in this area and about Schengen.

I’ve just attended a seminar organized by Transparency International ahead of the International Day against Corruption, on Friday. You can read the speech here. There were politicians, scientists, industry and representatives from the civil society. I work hard to prepare the report on corruption in the Member States, which will be presented in 2013. We need to make sure that we are consistent in the fight against corruption in all the work of the Commission, for example, with better proposals for public procurement, accounting, control, etc. We also support a major research project on corruption involving 20 countries and led by the Quality of Governance Institute in Gothenburg.

Corruption is estimated to cost almost as much as the annual budget of the European Union. In these times of austerity it would be good, also for economical reasons, if a greater share of the money stayed within the licit economy.

Now I am on my way to Geneva, where a large number of Ministers and personalities meet in conjunction with the Geneva Convention’s 60th birthday. I will participate in a roundtable on the future of asylum policy. It is sad that we still haven’t been able to agree on the asylum package and that the EU countries could not agree on a joint offer to accept refugees. UNHCR has for a year asked all countries to come to Geneva with an offer to accept refugees. But the EU Member States did not find this to be a priority. It is deeply tragic.

Serbian President Boris Tadic

Late last night I came back from a trip to Belgrade. The purpose of the trip was to attend a regional conference on corruption and organized crime, which is an annual conference organized by the Interior and Justice Ministers of Serbia. It is a forum where Ministers from across the Balkans, but also the wider region, discuss and exchange experiences. I had several interesting meetings, including with the Interior Minister, Ivica Dačice. We talked about crime, asylum and migration, cooperation with Europol and visa issues. With the Minister of Justice, Snezana Malovic, I spoke mostly about corruption and the importance of involving the whole community in the fight against corruption, not only the Minister of Justice. Serbia is currently working on creating an ambitious plan to fight corruption, so we exchanged ideas about what should be included.
 
The mood in Serbia is anxious right now, partly because of the unrest between Serbs and KFOR at the border with Kosovo, but above all because the European Council, at its summit on the 9th December, will decide whether Serbia should receive candidate status. It is my strong conviction that Serbia belongs in the European Union, but of course there are still many reforms to be made. The Commission has recommended that Serbia be given this status, but this is something that the Member States unanimously must to adopt, and that unity is not yet there. It is important that Serbia continues to engage in dialogue with Kosovo in trying to find a constructive solution to simplify everyday life. There is a new round of negotiations taking place today.
 
I also made two very interesting study visits; one to the Red Cross, which, for several years, has been running a project with young volunteers providing information on trafficking. It is a very ambitious project, and since 2005 the young volunteers have met with almost 100 000 children and adolescents. They also showed a film, Sisters, which tells the story of two young sisters who are lured to Western Europe and forced to work as sex slaves. The film’s producer, Bojana Maljevic, has received many awards and was there to speak about the film. We saw a clip which had a real impact, showing the brutal reality that sadly too many young women face today.

We also visited a refugee camp for Roma, where 250 Roma from Kosovo have been living for 15 years in very basic conditions. No electricity, no water and very simple houses. The camp will now be closed to build new houses and the Roma have no place to go. There are unfortunately many Roma who live that way, not only in Serbia, but in many countries in the region. In Belgrade alone there are over 130 camps with Roma. These are temporary camps in parking lots or landfills that gradually just become the permanent home of young and old alike. The EU supports Serbia in implementing various projects and building housing, but progress is very slow. Images of small, scantily-clad children playing among the garbage, and the concerns about what will happen to them, are not easy to let go.
 
The trip to Belgrade ended with a conversation with President Tadic. We talked of course about Kosovo.

I am in the beautiful town of Ohrid with a magnificent view over the lake which is shared by both the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania. The Polish presidency is chairing a ministerial meeting attended by all Ministers of Interior of the Western Balkans and on the agenda figures the fight against corruption, trafficking and organised crime.

All the Western Balkan countries, except for Kosovo, now enjoy visa free travel to the EU. This is a very positive development which enables the citizens of the Western Balkans to travel to the Schengen area without a visa. However,  since visa free travel was introduced there has been a dramatic increase of asylum requests in the EU from nationals from these countries. The majority are Roma. We have discussed how we can best address this situation and improve the situation for the Roma community in these countries