The EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council in Helsinki on 29-30 October
The fifth meeting of the EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council in the Justice and Home Affairs format (PPC JHA) will take place in Helsinki on 29 and 30 October. The central aim of the meeting is to widely promote EU-Russia cooperation in the JHA sector. Russian presidential aide Viktor Ivanov, Russian Minister of Justice Vladimir Ustinov and Russian Minister of the Interior Rashid Nurgaliyev have been invited to this meeting chaired by Finnish Minister of Justice Leena Luhtanen and Finnish Minister of the Interior Kari Rajamäki. In addition, German Minister of Justice Birgitte Zypries and Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble have been invited to represent Germany, the country holding the next EU Presidency, and Vice-President Franco Frattini, EU Commissioner responsible for Justice, Security and Freedom, to represent the Commission.
The EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council (Justice and Home Affairs) will discuss the implementation of the road map for the Common Space of Freedom, Security and Justice adopted by the EU and Russia in May 2005.
The meeting will start with a working dinner on Sunday 29 October, with discussion focusing on terrorism. The actual meeting will be held on 30 October. The issues on the agenda will be joint action between the EU and Russia regarding illegal and legal immigration and asylum policy, and strengthening of cooperation in the fight against organised crime and judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters.
In particular the meeting will discuss cooperation between border guard authorities in combating terrorism and organised crime. At the beginning of this year, the European Borders Agency, Frontex, and the Russian border guard authorities decided to increase cooperation in this field.
The meeting will aim to outline what measures the EU and Russia could take to reduce and prevent organised crime, particularly money laundering, human trafficking and drug offences.
The ministers will also discuss how the EU and Russia could increase practical judicial cooperation in civil and criminal matters. One of the aims is to guarantee the independence and autonomy of the Russian legal system. In fact, Russia has developed its legal system considerably in recent years. At present, Russia is carrying out an experiment to apply a legal aid system similar to the Finnish model, which will hopefully be continued.
The meeting will also address the problem of corruption. Efforts will be made to devise more effective ways of eliminating and preventing corruption.
The meeting will also strive to promote the conclusion of a cooperation agreement between Russia and Eurojust. Eurojust is an EU agency whose objective is to increase the efficiency of judicial authorities when considering serious cross-border and organised crime.
For further information, please contact
Ministry of Justice: Senior Adviser Marina Venäläinen, tel. +358 9 1606 7947, EU Assistant Martta Halonen, tel. +358 9 1606 7616, or EU Press Officer Pilvi Isotalus, tel. +358 9 1606 7958, email: [email protected]
Ministry of Interior: Director-General Antti Pelttari, tel. +358 9 160 42290, Senior Officer Jaana Yli-Piipari, tel. +358 9 160 44594, or Information Officer Janne Hauta, tel. +358 9 160 42358,
email: [email protected]