European Commission
Malmström

In Egypt last Sunday a big majority voted in favour of the constitutional amendments, which means that they are now preparing for the upcoming elections. I’m going to Egypt this afternoon together with the Hungarian Presidency, Foreign Minister János Martonyi, to meet with politicians and organisations and to learn more about the current situation.

We will have a discussion about the long term cooperation concerning migration, labour migration, visa, border control etc. Even if there will be new cooperation partners in Egypt after the election it’s important to see, already at this early stage, how the EU can assist the country in its transition.

I’m also meeting with UNHCR and IOM about the situation in the refugee camps and to see how the EU can help. Next week I’m also planning on going to Tunisia.

This morning I met with the head of the Åland government, Viveka Eriksson, and I also had a long meeting with the Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. North Africa and the recent developments were of course dicussed.

Today started with a long meeting with the LIBE committee in the European Parliament whom I debriefed of the state of play in the PNR negotiations with the US, Australia, and Canada, and where I presented the evaluation report of the EU-US agreement on the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP). The evaluation, which was carried out by representatives from data protection authorities, the Commission, and Eurojust, shows that the agreement on the whole works well and that the data protection mechanisms are in place. But the report also lists some recommendations of areas that need improvement. I think it is important that this report becomes public, so I put it online as soon as the LIBE committee had seen it. You can access it here, as well as the press release.

I also had a long telephone conversation with the Italian Minister of Interior Mr Roberto Maroni, about the situation on Lampedusa and in North Africa. Up until now, 11 200 people have reached Lampedusa’s shores from Tunisia, and as the weather improves the number of boats coming will probably increase. We are looking at how we can support Italy in this situation, and I will also discuss with Tunisian authorities how we can cooperate to make sure that those who are not in need of international protection can return home under safe and dignified conditions. So far no refugees from Libya have arrived in Europe, but we are of course preparing for all possible scenarios.

Today I met with the heads of the EU Representations in the member states. Among other things we discussed the situation in North Africa and the summit last Friday.

The leaders of EU’s member stats are meeting today in Brussels for an extra summit to discuss measures to support our North African neighbouring countries. EU has already condemned the violence and demanded that Kaddafi should resign but it is also important to see how we can assist the people in the region both in the short and long term.

Earlier this week the Commission agreed on a strategy for partnership with the Southern Mediterranean, which entails humanitarian aid, support for the political, democratic and economical reforms and migration measures. We must remain open and support the people in need of protection and we must also improve the mobility in the region and increase the legal migration. We are witnessing a historical development and it is my greatest hope that the Member states take this opportunity to strengthen our cooperation with the North African countries. 

Today also marks the seventh anniversary of the Madrid train bombings in 2004 that killed 191 and injured at least 1800 people commuting to work. The EU has devoted 11th March to remembering all victims of terrorist attacks in Europe and elsewhere in the world. I spoke today at a conference organised by the European Network of victims of Terrorism. You’ll find the speech here.

It is very emotional to listen to these people who have lost a father, daughter or friend in these meaningless terror actions. One of my strongest commitments as Commissioner for Home Affairs is to make Europe more secure. An important aspect of that work is to counter radicalisation leading to terrorism. Radicalisation can best be addressed by working together with local communities. Therefore, later this year, we will establish an EU wide network to help prevent radicalisation leading to terrorism and the recruitment of vulnerable individuals.

My thoughts today also go to the people in Japan where a tsunami is devastating parts of the country.

The humanitarian situation in Tunisia is still very serious. Member States are helping in different ways to evacuate people and assisting on the ground, and the Commission has allocated 30 million euro in humanitarian aid. At today’s college meeting, we adopted a strategy for North Africa, outlining measures for how the EU can support the democratic and economic transition in the short and long term. It was swiftly put together and will be transmitted to the EU heads of state and government, who will meet for an extraordinary summit in Brussels on Friday to discuss the situation.

We also adopted a climate roadmap, with regulations for how the EU will reduce CO2 emissions until 2050. Europe must set an example by leading the way in this important work, and I am glad that we adopted the roadmap unanimously today. At the same time I can’t help seeing the irony in adopting this in Strasbourg, to where my Commissioner colleagues, myself, and the whole European Parliament are commuting every month, causing 19.000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Today is also the occasion of the 100th International Women’s Day, and there is much to celebrate. We have achieved a lot to increase gender equality in Europe during the last century, and not least during my own lifetime, but we still have a lot of inequalities to overcome. In my area, I am particularly glad that I got broad support for my proposal for a Directive combating human trafficking just before Christmas. This modern slave trade is broader than being a women’s issue, but at the same time the majority of trafficking victims are women or young girls being bought and sold for sexual exploitation. This day is also a day to shed light on them, and to emphasise the need for us to never give up the fight against this horrible crime.