European Commission
Malmström

Last night, news came from New York on the inability of the U.N. Security Council to unite around a resolution against the brutal Syrian regime. That China and Russia used their vetos to block the resolution is a great shame, and goes directly against the values which the U.N. was constructed to uphold. The Syrian regime’s talk of reform has lost its last ounce of credibility as the attacks on civilians have escalated. European calls for an end to the violence, releasing imprisoned protesters and granting relief organizations access have so far not been observed. Recently, Europe sharpened its sanctions, concerning, among other things, the oil trade and a travel ban for representatives of the oppression. However, a U.N. resolution would have put welcome additional pressure on the regime.

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.

2011-06-17 I came back from Kiev late last night, where I attended the annual meeting with the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Interior of Ukraine. We discussed corruption, migration, human rights and visa regulation liberalisation. There is an action plan on visa liberalisation between Ukraine and the EU, but in order to achieve visa liberalisation, Ukraine still needs to take an array of measures. The government has taken ambitious steps when it comes to new legislation but it is very important that they are in line with European standards and implemented in a proper manner. I also met with the President Yanukovych, the First Vice Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister. Except for politics we also had a short discussion on the preparations for the European Football Championship that will be hosted by Ukraine and Poland next year.