Justice and Home Affairs Council on 5 December in Brussels

The last meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council under Finland's EU Presidency will be held on Tuesday, 5 December. The meeting, chaired by Finnish Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki, will set a timetable for the enlargement of the Schengen area and adopt the conclusions on the review of the Hague Programme in the field of home affairs and the EU border management strategy initiated by Finland. The meeting will also discuss the Presidency report on the progress made in implementing the Hague Programme during the Finnish Presidency.

The development of the second generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS II project) has moved forward during the Finnish Presidency; however, it is an extremely complex package from a legal, political and technical point of view. The SIS II system will replace the current SIS 1+ system, the technology of which is outdated. The updated system will contain new functionalities and categories of data.

After rigorous debate both at the Council and at the European Parliament, the Finnish Presidency managed to reach political agreement on the legislative instruments regulating the SIS II. These instruments will be adopted in spring2007.

The aim is to abolish internal border controls between the new and old Member States as soon as possible. An essential part of this process is to ensure that the Schengen Information System becomes operational in the new Member States. To this end, a project called "SISone4all" was launched on the initiative of Portugal to establish whether the new Member States could be integrated temporarily into the SIS 1+ rather than directly into the SIS II. If the new Member States were integrated into the old system, internal border controls could be lifted even before the SIS II becomes operational.

The Council will make a summary and carry out a mid-term review of all the Schengen evaluations completed during the Austrian and Finnish Presidencies. Based on the summary, a decision will be made whether to carry out any further evaluations in 2007. Before lifting internal border controls, it is also necessary to carry out SIS related evaluations.

Migration and border control high on the agenda

The Justice and Home Affairs Council will hold an open debate on the review of the Hague Programme in the field of home affairs, the Commission Communication on the Global Approach to Migration one year on: Towards a comprehensive European migration policy, and the Commission Communication on Reinforcing the Management of the European Union's Southern Maritime Borders. The Council will also adopt the conclusions on the review of the Hague Programme. In addition, the Presidency will present its report on the progress made in implementing the Hague Programme during its six-month period.

During its Presidency, Finland has strived to take forward discussion on extended European solidarity in immigration, border control and asylum policies. The Commission Communication on illegal migration issued in July supports the initiative on extended European solidarity presented at the informal justice and home affairs ministerial meeting in Tampere, Finland.

The Council will adopt the EU border management strategy initiated by Finland, which, for example, updates the definitions related to the integrated border management system and specifies the most urgent measures to be taken by the European Borders Agency, Frontex. Moreover, the strategy reinforces cooperation between national authorities (border guard, customs, police, national security and other authorities) and encourages Member States to take part in joint operations and regional cooperation.

The strategy stresses the importance of risk analysis which provides an overall picture of the situation along the external borders. By further developing this analysis, it is possible to improve operational activities. Finland has been actively involved in the development of risk analysis. In fact, the common risk analysis model used by border guards throughout the EU is based on the Finnish border guard tradition and research.

For further information, please contact State Secretary Kari Salmi, tel. +358 9 160 42802; Permanent Secretary Ritva Viljanen, tel. +358 9 160 42803; Director-General Antti Pelttari, tel. +358 9 160 42290; Counsellor Hannele Taavila, tel. +32 2 2878 504, +32 476 599 913 (police cooperation and rescue services); Counsellor Annikki Vanamo-Alho, tel. +32 2 3878 420 (immigration and asylum affairs); Counsellor Markku Hassinen, tel. +32 2 2878 527, +32 478 887 463 (border security and visa affairs); or Counsellor Sari Haavisto, tel. +32 2 2878 626, +32 473 485 025.

During the meeting, media representatives can contact Press Counsellor Mikko Norros, Finland's Permanent Representation to the EU, tel. +32 2 2878 456, +32 478 626 928, or Head of Press and Communications Services Kaija Uusisilta, Ministry of the Interior, tel. +358 9 160 42949, +358 40 561 2268