Minister Rajamäki: Towards more efficient decision-making in police cooperation
”Finland wants to stress the importance of strengthening decision-making in police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. This can be achieved by making full use of the possibilities offered by the Treaty on European Union. In particular, it should be explored how the passerelle clause laid down in Article 42 of the EU Treaty can be applied, as the use of this clause would significantly promote an efficient, understandable and democratic way of addressing Justice and Home Affairs. Europe needs to be viable in order to combat new serious phenomena, such as trafficking in human beings,” said Mr Kari Rajamäki, Finnish Minister of the Interior, when presenting objectives of Finland’s EU Presidency at the Committee on Citizen’s Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (the LIBE Committee) of the European Parliament.
According to Mr Rajamäki, Finland wants to give renewed impetus to the development of a common European asylum system and a common integrated management system for the Union’s external borders.
“The Presidency aims to create a basis for a more comprehensive evaluation system for Justice and Home Affairs so as to enable the implementation of our common decisions in all Member States,” Mr Rajamäki pointed out.
According to Mr Rajamäki, the Finnish Presidency will aim to launch debate on how to develop the common asylum system.
“We should try to ensure that the minimum rules are turned into genuinely common rules and that the asylum rules are broadened out to include other forms of international protection,” Mr Rajamäki said and added “At the same time, practical cooperation between the Member States’ asylum authorities should be further developed.”
During its Presidency, Finland will seek to launch broader discussion at political level on wider European solidarity in immigration, asylum and border control issues.
“Central topics relating to European solidarity include providing international protection to those entitled to it; ensuring a more concrete financial burden sharing in issues concerning illegal immigration, asylum and border control; and complying with the commonly agreed rules in a verifiable manner,” underlined Mr Rajamäki.
He went on to say that Finland would also address the EU action plan on combating trafficking in human beings, with special emphasis on a human rights-based and victim-centred approach and on the development of operational cooperation.
Mr Rajamäki spoke of trafficking in human beings, saying it “is the most disgusting form of organised crime the combating of which will require our continuous efforts.” “In Finland, I have particularly stressed the importance of intensifying operational cooperation among authorities in order to secure field-level authorities’ readiness to intervene in human trafficking,” Mr Rajamäki told Members of the European Parliament.
For further information, please contact Ms Ritva Viljanen, Permanent Secretary, tel. +358 9 160 42803