European Commission
Malmström

Today, I met with the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Kluyev who was visiting Brussels. We discussed their work with the reforms necessary to proceed with visa liberalization vis-á-vis the EU. The first report of the Commission has just been released and it confirms much progress, but also demonstrates that a lot more needs to be done, especially when it comes to the treatment of asylum seekers and the fight against corruption. Later during the day, I also met a group of young people from all over Europe, who are in Brussels for a leadership training exercise. I have also had discussions with the Polish Minister of Justice Mr Miller in preparation for the Council meeting tomorrow. It will be a long and eventful meeting. Topics to be addressed include the proposed entry into Schengen by Bulgaria and Romania, which is still blocked by two member countries. We will also discuss my proposals for reform of the entire Schengen system and it will doubtlessly be a lively debate. Combating radicalization and the fight against extremism (for this discussion we’ve invited our Norwegian friends to join), integration, asylum and more will also be discussed during the Council tomorrow.

I also had a long meeting with Human Rights Watch who has published a highly critical report on the asylum system in Greece. They believe that the presence of the EU’s Frontex agency legitimizes the poor conditions at the border of Greece.  We are fully aware of the unacceptable detention conditions for migrants, which have been well-documented, and I am frustrated with the slow pace of improvements regarding detention conditions, especially in Evros. However, the situation would probably be even worse if Frontex would not be present. The Commission continues to place pressure on Greece to provide immediate short-term solutions to remedy the worst of the conditions. The new regulatory framework for Frontex, which I’ve proposed and which was adopted by Parliament last week, will substantially strengthen the Human Rights aspects of their work. The report will also be discussed at the Frontex Agency board meeting next week.

I’m in Strasbourg for an extraordinarily busy session of the European Parliament where I will be debating Frontex and corruption. I also have a lot of meetings on the asylum package, Schengen and PNR, amongst other issues. In the College meeting today we had a long debate about enlargement, ahead of the annual report in October.

The Parliament voted today with an overwhelming majority in favour of the revised guidelines for Frontex. The vote is the result of lengthy negotiations, but at last we have now reached a good result that will allow Frontex to operate more efficiently and more effectively. At the same time, the revision will strengthen the human rights aspect of Frontex’s work, which is very important to me. All participants in Frontex operations should have basic knowledge about human rights and international conventions. Independent observers will now participate in return operations. The system for the review and evaluation of Frontex will also be reinforced. Read more about this here.

2011-07-04 The sun is shining in Brussels today and we have celebrated the one year anniversary of DG Home. DG Home is the Directorate-General of the European Commission in charge of Home Affairs, i.e. my responsibilities. The DG used to be joint with DG Justice but became its own DG last year. I attended a staff meeting with all employees this morning and a modest celebration with coffee, croissants, cake and speeches. It has been a very productive year. One example being the political agreements on Frontex, the fight against sexual exploitation of children and on stricter rules on combat illicit trafficking of civilian firearms, that we managed to reach the other week. They have all worked extremely hard this year and I am truly grateful.

Now, I’m on my way to Strasbourg where a debate on PNR will take place tonight, amongst many other issues.

2011-06-22 I very much welcome the political agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on the proposal amending the Frontex Regulation that I put forward in February last year. The agreement confirms the EU’s commitment to strengthening the operational capabilities of Frontex, also ensuring that the activities of the Agency will take place in full respect of the European fundamental rights provisions. The European Parliament and the Council will now vote on the Regulation, to formally adopt it, but I am confident that the text will be adopted swiftly.

As of yesterday the Frontex mission ‘Hermes’ is officially deployed to assist the Italian authorities in managing the inflow of migrants from Tunisia on the island of Lampedusa. The mission is being launched four days after receiving the official request from the Italian authorities. The mission is part of a broader framework of measures put in place, and includes support of border surveillance and experts to assist the Italian authorities in interviewing migrants. They have a special mission to identify those who may be in need of international protection. In other words, they are there to save lives.

Today the EU Foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss, among other things, assistance to Tunisia as well as the current developments in Libya. Cathy Ashton sent a clear message yesterday that all violence in Libya must be stopped and that the demands of the people for reform must be addressed through open and meaningful dialogue. We are closely following the developments, and stand ready to support the democratic, social, and economic reforms needed in the region.