European Commission
Malmström

Looking back at 2011, it has definitely been a very eventful year. The economic crisis has put pressure on people, politicians, governments and the European institutions. The problems are far from resolved as we enter 2012. There is still a long way to go.  But I hope we can shift our gaze in 2012 from the European crisis to providing all the support we can to a democratic transition in our neighbourhood.

The events last year related to the Arab spring really were historic. That people, in one country after another, stood up in protest against dictators, demanding free elections, democracy and human rights is truly amazing. Ben Ali and Mubarak are now gone and Kadaffi is dead.  This creates new conditions in countries where democracy has been in short supply. The brave people in Syria continue their protest against the violent and utterly tone-deaf regime.  I really hope that we will also see a change of regime in Damascus.

Another event that touched me deeply in 2011 is the massacre at Utöya in Norway last summer. It is still so unspeakably cruel and incomprehensible, and it has made us aware of how important it is to work together to identify extremists of all kinds and prevent that acts of violence of this kind is repeating themselves. The launch of the Radicalisation Awareness Network in September has been a great success, allowing many people to come together to share experiences in an effort to prevent violence.

The Poles have now handed over the EU Presidency to the Danes. The Poles had a hard time during the Autumn, in the shadow of “Merkozy”, but Prime Minister Tusk handled the situation well and has shown great European leadership. In my area, we have taken small but important steps forward regarding the asylum package. As the Danes now taken over it is important to continue these efforts so that, by the end of the year, we hopefully have all the pieces in place.

And as the new year begins, we are closely following the worrying developments in Hungary. The new Constitution has just come into force and it contains several problematic clauses that do not appear to be consistent with the fundamental values that all EU countries endorse. It has also led to large protests in Hungary. In addition, new laws have been adopted which greatly undermine both the Hungarian Central Bank, the judiciary and the Data Protection Ombudsman’s independence. The Commission has repeatedly expressed concern for these laws, and for the Constitution. Chairman Barroso has already sent two letters to the Hungarian Prime Minister, asking for clarification.

There is certainly no shortage of things to do in 2012, but let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

It has been a dramatic summer with the horrendous acts committed in Norway, the American debt crisis, the Euro crisis, the turbulence on the stock markets, the violence against civilians in Syria, the riots in London and other British cities, and of course the awful famine disaster in the Horn of Africa. The European Commission is working in close cooperation with the UN and several NGO:s to help the people in the region. The Commission has contributed with €158 million in financial aid and the total EU aid (Commission and Member States) stands at €425 million. One of the most important measures, except for getting the emergency relief to these people, is to have a real peace process in Somalia and to secure the situation in the Horn of Africa.

Merkel and Sarkozy met in Paris yesterday to discuss the eurozone crisis. They came out in strong defence of the euro and suggested stronger political governance and a regular format and frequency for the euro area summits, with a permanent and elected chair, Herman van Rompuy to start with. A ceiling on public debt, a harmonisation of corporate tax within the eurozone and a European tax on financial transactions were also suggested. I am rather hesitant to a financial transaction tax, which will only function if adopted at a global level. But I do believe that a stronger political leadership and cooperation within the eurozone is necessary. 

The activity of the European Commission is reduced during the summer period but a lot of people are still present and working and most of us are constantly available. I am in office this week and there are papers to sign, briefings to prepare and internal meetings to chair but there is also time to actually go trough all those papers that have been piling up during the spring. I am also making good use of this more calmer period to prepare for the autumn, which will be rather intense I am sure.

It is hard to think about anything else than our Norwegian friends nowadays. This morning I gave a phone call to the Polish Minister for the Interior Jerzy Miller. Poland is chairing the EU Ministerial Council since some weeks back and they will host the next Justice and Home Affairs Council on 22-23 September. I told him what the Commission and Europol have done so far following the awful terrorist attacks in Norway; we were early in contact with the Norwegian authorities and offered them our help and support.

On 9 September we are planning to launch the anti-radicalisation network that I wrote about yesterday. It will counter every form of radicalisation – be it religious, political, and ideological. I suggested to my Polish colleague that we put radicalisation on the agenda for the next Council meeting and that we invite Norway to take part in the discussions in order to share their experiences and get support from colleagues around Europe. We will also invite a representative of the network to talk to the ministers and give insight into their work and the efforts on the ground. To counter violent extremism and radicalisation is a challenge that we need to take on together in Europe.

The grief and the shock are still substantial after the terror acts in Norway. We are all desperately trying to understand why this happened. Testimonies from the survivals from Utöya seem like they are taken from a nightmare. Like many others I am impressed by the leadership of the Norwegian Prime Minister in this difficult situation. It is extremely important to stand up for the open society and not be frightened to silence.

In the investigations of the horrendous terror deed it has become known that the person who claims to be responsible has been working for years on some sort of manifesto saying that Norway and Europe shall be “cleansed” from multiculturalism and from Islam. This manifesto is a product of a very disturbed man, but unfortunately we recognise some of these sentiments in Europe today. I have many times expressed my concern over xenophobic parties who build their unfortunately quite successful rhetoric on negative opinions on Islam and other so called threats against society. This creates a very negative environment, and sadly there are too few leaders today who stand up for diversity and for the importance of having open, democratic, and tolerant societies where everybody is welcome.

Thankfully it is uncommon to go from words to such horrendous deeds like the ones that Anders Behring Breivik is suspected for having committed, but this shows how important it is to work against radicalisation in all its forms. Last fall, the European Commission initiated a more systematic cooperation against radicalisation. In November last year I presented an Internal Security Strategy for the EU, where anti-radicalisation is listed as one of our priorities. The aim is to gather people from across the EU who work with these issues on the ground – researchers, social workers, religious leaders, youth leaders, policemen, and others – to exchange ideas and experiences. The first meetings already took place and we are planning to formally launch the anti-radicalisation network in September. The project will receive about four million Euros during the coming years. I have now seen to it that also our Norwegian colleagues are invited to participate in this network. Europol is also working against radicalisation, and there is work ongoing in several Member States. It is extremely important that we work with preventive measures in order to stop people with extreme ideologies to go from words to action.

Moreover, it seems like the man suspected of these crimes has also constructed the bomb that went off by the government offices in Oslo. It is far too easy today to get hold of substances that can be used as precursors in making home made explosives. The Oslo bomber seems to have used fertilizers, which is one of the most common substances within this area (another one is hydrogen peroxide, which is the active substance in hair bleach and was used in the London bombings in the summer of 2005). Last September I put forward a proposal which would require people to get specific licences in order to by large quantities of such substances, and that such large purchases must be reported. The proposal would also mean that some dangerous substances would be banned and that the concentration of other substances must be reduced. Legislation can of course not be the cure for all risks of acts of violence, crime or terrorism, but by introducing common regulations across the EU we can make it harder for malicious persons to make these dangerous explosives.

There are reports of an explosion in central Oslo close to the Prime Minister’s office. According to the media parts of the Ministry for Justice are on fire. Several people are reported to be injured and so far two people are confirmed dead. What has caused the explosion is still not clear, but if this is a terror attack it is of course horrific and something that I very strongly condemn. Right now my thoughts go to the victims and their families.

2011-07-07 A special Eurobarometer presented today shows that for 48% of European citizens, the right to move and reside freely in the European Union is the most important citizens’ right. I fully agree. It is fantastic to be able to study, work and travel freely in the EU without having to go through passport controls or apply for special resident permits.

The discussions on the strengthening of border controls don’t sit well with this freedom. I am reading in the news that Norway wants to strengthen its border control in order to control immigration. We have not received confirmation about this yet, but if it is true I am concerned about these signals. Norway is not a member of the EU but it is part of the Schengen cooperation. We are looking into this and will talk with the Norwegians to get more information.

The Eurobarometer also shows that 42 % of the EU citizens are not satisfied with transparency in the EU administration. On this point I agree as well, even if there have been improvements over the last years. When I was a Member of Parliament I started to upload documents on a website to make the Parliament more transparent. As Commissioner I am posting my correspondence online (the correspondence with private persons is excepted). I am trying to get more Commissioners to do the same and I am striving for a greater transparency throughout the Commission. There is much more to do in this respect.