By Morten Bødskov - 10th January 2012
It took sacrifices and strong cooperation to get to where we are today and we still need to strengthen our cooperative relations in order to sustain a high level of security in the EU
Morten Bødskov
A safe and secure Europe will not be achieved without strong cooperation and solidarity between EU member states, writes Morten Bødskov.
European cooperation is essential in order to deal with the cross-border challenges of a globalised world and to ensure the safety and security of European citizens. Therefore, the Danish presidency of the council of the EU considers the security of Europe a key priority.
Europe is a safe place to live. In Europe, the freedoms of citizens are protected and safeguarded by the authorities in order for every citizen to be able to fully exercise his or her rights. However, we must remember that security in Europe is not inherent in nature. It took sacrifices and strong cooperation to get to where we are today and we still need to strengthen our cooperative relations in order to sustain a high level of security in the EU.
Facing increasing cross-border crime, terrorism and other external security threats against Europe, concerted and resolute action on the part of member states is necessary, as an individual member state cannot effectively combat these types of threats by itself. At the same time, we must keep in mind that European citizens expect the EU to play a significant role in safeguarding their rights and ensuring their safety. That is also why we should strengthen our focus on creating concrete results so that the individual citizen benefits from EU efforts in the area of justice and home affairs.
The Danish presidency will focus on ensuring that new EU initiatives truly answer the needs of member states and European citizens. In the area of justice and home affairs, the effective implementation of the Stockholm programme (2010-2014) will be a key priority. The programme must be implemented in accordance with the current EU challenges, which also means that, at a time of economic crisis, we should take into account the financial implications of the tabled proposals.
In the area of asylum and migration affairs, there is an obvious need to improve the overall European capacity to manage migration from third countries, the importance of which has been underlined by recent developments in the southern Mediterranean and at the southern and south-eastern external borders. Therefore, the Danish presidency will continue the efforts to finalise the common European asylum system before the end of 2012 and thus aims at tangible results on the proposed amendments to the asylum procedures directive, the reception conditions directive, and the revision of the Dublin Regulation and the Eurodac regulation.
The Danish presidency will also endeavour to strengthen the Schengen system, inter alia through a safeguard clause in the visa regulation and the establishment of the Schengen evaluation and monitoring mechanism. A strong and efficient Schengen system is vital for the functioning of free movement, which is a fundamental right in the EU and a cornerstone of European cooperation. Therefore, it is important that we find the right balance in order to strengthen the Schengen system and to ensure free movement.
As regards judicial and police cooperation, the Danish presidency wishes to maintain and strengthen the cooperation between member states on combating cross-border crime and terrorism. Therefore, we will strive to achieve considerable progress in negotiations on the EU passenger name directive and aim to finalise negotiations on the European investigation order which will introduce a unified regime for collecting evidence from other member states. Both instruments are important steps in the fight against serious cross-border crime which, efficiently implemented, will bring added value to the work of European law enforcement authorities.
Finally, the Danish presidency will give priority to the negotiations on the victims’ package thereby maintaining focus on the need of victims of crime to get the support they need in order to return to normal life.
In today’s Europe, no member state’s safeguard against challenges such as increased migration flows or cross border crime is stronger than the countries surrounding it. Therefore, keeping Europe safe and secure calls for strong cooperation and real solidarity between the member states. We owe it to each other to face the European challenges together, and more importantly we owe it to the citizens of the EU.
Morten Bødskov is Denmark's justice minister
