European Commission
Malmström

I am in Strasbourg for the monthly meeting session. It has been two busy days. The College meeting of Commissioners, which are held on Tuesdays when we are in Strasbourg, was all about the budget and the situation ahead of the coming negotiations. I have also had a variety of meetings with Members of the European Parliament to talk about cyber, the asylum package, PNR, etc. The sun is shining outside and the park is full of storks.

I  had lunch with the Liberal Members of the LIBE Committee to discuss the near-term agenda and upcoming issues, such as the Schengen proposal and the asylum package, where the negotiations now are being intensified.

Earlier today we received a dreadful report from Amnesty International, which further demonstrates the Assad regime’s brutality in Syria. Media and other sources from Syria  reveal unbearable images of civilians killed and mutilated children. The massacre must stop.

Today I also suffer with the Belgian people who mourn all the children who died in a bus accident in Switzerland yesterday evening. Among those who survived many are injured and were taken to hospital. My thoughts are with their families.

There has been much debate in Sweden in recent weeks over Prime Ministers Reinfeldt’s statement on retirement at an older age. The retirement age debate is, of course, directly linked to pensions, an area in which the EU plays only a supportive role to ensure that Member States have well-functioning pension system. My colleague Laszlo Andor presented an assessment this week of the pension situation in Europe, which is based on a consultation process with Member States. In it, we say that as the average age of EU citizens increases, it is also reasonable that the retirement age should also be rasied. Merely raising the retirement age is not enough to meet the huge demographic challenge ahead of us, we also need to boost our workforce by attracting labour migrants to Europe. Commissioner Andor and I are currently looking into ways to facilitate labour migration to the EU.

Yesterday the European Parliament in Strasbourg voted for a more responsible budget, which also included an amendment saying that the Parliament, which currently commutes between Brussels and Strasbourg, should only have one seat. The question of where the European Parliament shall convene is stated in the EU treaty.  To change this, all Member States must agree. But the fact that the Parliament has clearly stated that commuting is a major cost for EU citizens (not to mention the environmental impact), and therefore should be abandoned, is very good.

2011-05-10 I attended the G8 conference in Paris this morning. It was a very interesting discussion about drugs and the transatlantic cocaine routes. The consumption of cocaine is increasing in Europe and the drug trade creates an illicit market, roughly worth €550 million a month. It has devastating effects on lives as well as on countries. Expect for the G8 countries there were also ministers from fifteen other countries, for example Colombia, Brazil, Senegal, Peru, Bolivia and Mali. It was an interesting discussion about how to cooperate to prevent drug trafficking.

Unfortunately I was only able to attend the first part of the meeting due to the European Parliaments decision to schedule a debate on migration and Schengen in Strasbourg in the afternoon. President Barroso and I participated in the debate where we talked about how to strengthen the cooperation within Schengen.

Recently arrived in Strasbourg. I’m going to discuss one of the proposals in the asylum package, the procedure directive. Later this evening there will also be a debate on the migration flows in the Mediterranean, an item that has been on the agenda every session now for the last couple of months in Strasbourg. In between these debates I will also cover for some of my colleagues and discuss issues such as violence against women and statistics on tourism. It looks like it’s going to be a long night.

Back in Brussels temporarily in between meetings in Strasbourg. Among other appointments, I have met with Jan Björklund, Sweden’s deputy Prime Minister and leader of the liberal party. We discussed the situation in North Africa of course, and migration and asylum policy in general.

I heard there was cheering in the European Parliament today, when the MEPs voted in favour of less commuting between Brussels and Strasbourg. Starting next year, there will only be eleven travels back and forth each year instead of twelve, which is the case today. This is clearly a step in the right direction.

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.