Minister of the Interior Ohisalo to present Finland’s Presidency themes before the European Parliament

Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo and Minister of Justice Anna-Maja Henriksson will present themes for Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union before the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament in Brussels on 4 September.

"The EU and its Member States must continue their cooperation and go on developing it to guarantee internal security. In order to respond to new threats in the future, we must anticipate challenges generated by the evolving operating environment," Minister Ohisalo says.

The Finnish Presidency is fostering a debate on the future direction of internal security in the EU. Key elements are the enhancement of operational cooperation between law enforcement authorities and the role of the justice and home affairs agencies of the EU. The Presidency is also advancing debate on the prevention of violent radicalisation and the fight against terrorism as well as on the countering of cybercrime and cyber threats.

Effective migration management is one of the key themes of Finland’s Presidency. It is important to encourage cooperation with non-EU countries and promote measures at EU external borders and in Member States. These measures include real-time monitoring of migration routes and developing of the EU’s common migration and return policy in sustainable ways.

"It is necessary to reform the Common European Asylum System, if we want a system that functions better during times of increasing migration. Finland aims to encourage constructive thematic discussions on the files on the table as part of a wider debate about the future of migration and thereby build trust between Member States," Ohisalo says.

In the past four years, the migration debate has focused on the issue of just burden sharing. In practice, the focus is especially on finding ways to transfer asylum seekers who have arrived in the EU from a Member State experiencing unreasonably high migratory pressure to other Member States. These issues are the main reason why it has been so difficult to reform the Common European Asylum System, but it is also important to continue discussing them.

In her address to the LIBE Committee, Minister of the Interior Ohisalo also highlighted that securing EU funding for migration, border management and internal security is one of the key objectives of Finland’s Presidency.

"EU funding can respond to the challenges of migration, promote legal border crossings and prevent irregular immigration and cross-border crime. The fight against terrorism, violent radicalisation and other serious crime must be a common goal. The use of EU funding must be flexible, observing the constant changes in our operating environment," Ohisalo says.

Inquiries:

Laura Yli-Vakkuri, Director General, tel. +358 40 720 22 16, [email protected]