European Commission
Malmström

At today’s meeting with the College of Commissioners, there was a long discussion on the economic situation, ahead of this weekend’s Summit.  It is a very difficult time in Europe and therefore important that EU leaders present a comprehensive programme that can pull the EU out of the crisis.  The discussion in the meeting on Sunday will focus on Greece, on the mandate of the European Rescue Fund, on the recapitalisation of banks, and some institutional issues.  The Commission’s action plan, presented last week, will be the basis for discussion.  But we, of course, need to go further.  The meeting will begin with all EU Member States, and then continue with only the 17 Member States in the Eurozone.  As these States grow closer, we are seeing this split more and more.  Exclusion of the 10 EU Member States outside the Eurozone, including Sweden, is increasingly evident.  Some want to institutionalise this division through amendments to the Treaty, which would be extremely unfortunate.

Based on the current situation, it is encouraging that the Commission today proposed an investment package of 50 billion Euro in order to better link EU transport, energy and broadband networks.  These grants will specifically be used for construction of roads, railways, energy, oil and gas pipelines and broadband networks.  These are investments that promote growth, as well as the internal market, that make it easier for people to travel around Europe and that contribute to increased trade.    

Yesterday evening the EU cancelled a meeting between Barroso and the President of Ukraine.  The Ukraine must show that it has a legal system that meets European standards in terms rule of law and independence of judiciary.  Unfortunately this is not the case today.

More than 13 million visas are issued every year to people wishing to visit EU countries. Applying for a visa can be a very time-consuming and cumbersome process. In part, this stems from the fact that the present system cannot handle such large quantities of applications, and because visa handling routines are based on an outdated system of stamps. The EU has, for a number of years, worked on modernising the system for visa applications (VIS), and today, the new system was finally introduced for travellers from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauretania, Morocco and Tunisia.

From now on, citizens of these countries will benefit from a more effective system with clearer rules for visa applications. By using fingerprints and a digital facial image, applications can be handled faster. Also, information on short-term visas can more easily be exchanged between Schengen countries, to the benefit of those travelling within the Schengen area.

Today, a ministerial meeting was held with the Russian Minister of Justice, Alexander Konovalov, and the deputy minister for home affairs, Sergey Bulavin. These are fairly well-rehearsed events where most of the content has been pre-cooked by our negotiators. The major issue at stake is visa negotiations, where, for quite some time, we have tried to agree on the “steps to take” needed from the Russian side in order for real negotiations to begin on abolishing visas. As this is a complicated issue, member states have different views on the matter. Today, however, we managed to agree around a preliminary list of steps, and hopefully the last knots can be untangled at the summit between Barroso and Medvedev.

We also discussed cooperation in the fight against corruption, organised crime, smuggling of narcotics and trafficking in human beings, among other things. I also raised the unsolved murder of Natalia Estremirova and the Magnitsky case for discussion. Apart from the Polish Presidency, Denmark’s newly appointed Minister of Justice Morten Bødskov was also present at the meeting – it was good to get a chance to talk to him.

And it is with great worry that I have received news about the verdict against the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko. The trial against her has been neither fair nor transparent, and the entire process indicates a highly worrisome development in the country.

Press conference with Poland's Minister for Home Affairs, Jerzy Miller. Photo: European Commission

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.

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.