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EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council

Volume 703: debated on Tuesday 22 July 2008

The Justice and Home Affairs Council will be held on 24 and 25 July 2008 in Brussels. My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice (Bridget Prentice), my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Office (Meg Hillier) and the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in Scotland (Kenny McAskill) will attend on behalf of the United Kingdom. As the provisional agenda stands, the following items will be discussed.

The morning of the council will focus on asylum and immigration business, starting with a state-of-play report on the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum. The pact covers five areas: legal migration of third-country nationals, illegal immigration and returns; border controls; asylum; partnership with countries of origin; and transit (the global approach). The presidency is seeking agreement on the pact in time for the 15 October European Council. We support the strong focus on immigration and asylum issues under the French presidency and will use this as a basis for stronger practical co-operation in the EU. The Government are generally content with the pact but will continue to work with the presidency on the detail of the final document.

There will follow a discussion on the directive on the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of highly qualified employment (commonly known as the EU Blue Card), which aims to set admission conditions for highly skilled migrants. It also proposes to determine the conditions in which third-country nationals who are legally residing in a member state under the proposal may reside with their family members in other member states. The French presidency is aiming for political agreement at the September JHA Council. The UK has not opted into this measure since it does not fit with the UK’s points-based system.

The presidency is seeking an agreement to the directive providing for sanctions against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals by member states. The UK chose not to opt into this directive as a result of concerns in relation to the proposed definition of employer, a notification requirement and inspections. However, the UK is seeking to influence discussions in order to amend the text in a manner which would allow a review of our opt-in position post-adoption of the directive.

The council will be asked to agree conclusions on the taking-in of Iraqi refugees by member states. The Government strongly agree that member states should be able to determine their own resettlement policies. The UK will continue to resettle Iraqi refugees under our established policies and selection criteria and does not consider common resettlement criteria to be feasible. We support sharing good practice.

The presidency would like to reach a general approach on the directive amending directive 2003/109/EC to extend its scope to beneficiaries of international protection. The UK has chosen not to opt into the proposed directive as we believe it is not in line with our frontiers protocol.  We want to determine the status of third-country nationals via the UK’s Immigration Rules.

The council then reverts to discussions on interior business, starting with the Mixed Committee with Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. The presidency will present a state-of-play report on the draft regulation amending common consular instructions on visas for diplomatic and consular posts in relation to the introduction of biometrics. Although the United Kingdom does not participate in issuing Schengen visas, we welcome the efforts of Schengen member states in ensuring that the Schengen external EU borders are as secure as possible.

The Commission will also update the council on the state of play of the second-generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). The presidency will also look to agree the council regulation and council decision on the migration of SISI+ to SIS II.

Under any other business in mixed committee, the Commission will present its communication on visa reciprocity. Although the United Kingdom does not participate in the EU common visa policy, the United Kingdom will continue to support the principle of reciprocity and extending the US visa waiver programme to all EU member states.

The presidency intends to present its proposed working method on the passenger name records framework decision to the council. Its approach will focus on seeking agreement on the key issues of the dossier, namely scope, the depth of harmonisation necessary, data protection and relations with third countries.  The presidency will also suggest that there should be consultation with data protection authorities, the European Parliament and carriers. The UK is in broad agreement with this approach and welcomes the ambitious programme of work outlined in the French proposal.

The presidency will present the final reports of the Future Groups on Home Affairs and on Justice, which  aim to provide input to the new JHA work programme that will replace the Hague programme at the end of 2009.  The Government see these reports as one element among several that should feed the debate on the direction of the new work programme.

The presidency will propose taking forward work to improve co-operation in tackling cybercrime.  The UK supports action in this area to promote co-operation between private industry and public authorities, as well as between law enforcement.  We will work with the presidency to develop its ideas.

On the morning of the second day, the council will move to justice issues.  The presidency will seek political agreement on the council decision on strengthening Eurojust.  This instrument aims to improve the efficiency of Eurojust, including by giving national members a minimum set of powers and increasing the flow of information between national competent authorities and Eurojust.  The Government are content with the outcome of negotiations and believe the draft strikes a good balance.

The French presidency will also seek political agreement on the council decision amending the European judicial network. This instrument is intended to update and replace the 1998 joint action which established the European judicial network and take account of subsequent developments in EU judicial co-operation, including the establishment of Eurojust in 2002. The Government are generally content with what is proposed.    

The presidency will present a proposal for a council decision on the establishment of the European criminal records information system (ECRIS). There will be a policy debate on this measure which aims to find a standardised format for exchange of the content of a conviction, as well as other general and technical implementation aspects of the information exchange.  The Government strongly support this measure in so far as it aims to improve and speed up the arrangements for exchanging information on past convictions.

There will be a policy debate about the Rome III regulation (choice of law in divorce). The UK did not opt into the negotiations on this proposal.  Member states have been unable to reach agreement on the measure, and some now wish to proceed by way of enhanced co-operation.  The treaty provides for this, as a last resort, where eight or more states wish to participate in something that falls within Community competence but cannot be attained within a reasonable period.  If it went ahead, it would be first use of enhanced co-operation.  There is no expectation that the UK will participate and the Government do not intend to do so.