- The Tampere European Council to be organised in mid-October will give the Heads of State or Government - for the first time since the 1980s when the Schengen agreements were concluded - a real opportunity to discuss justice and home affairs, said the Finnish Minister of the Interior Kari Häkämies in Brussels today.

Minister of the Interior Mr. Kari Häkämies and Minister of Justice Mr. Johannes Koskinen were heard at the new Committee on Citizens´ Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament. The Ministers gave a statement on the agenda of the Tampere European Council, and on the issues in the field of justice and home affairs to be discussed under the Finnish presidency.

According to Ministers Häkämies and Koskinen, the area of freedom, security and justice should be based on an idea of the European Union as a common area.

- The methods proven effective when creating and implementing the internal market, such as approximation and harmonisation of legislation, creation of common minimum standards, and application of the principle of mutual recognition, could also be applied when establishing the area of freedom, security and justice. One of the primary objectives should be abolition of technical, administrative and judicial barriers, which now make cooperation difficult.

The agenda of the European Council at Tampere will consist of themes connected to immigration and asylum policy, the fight against cross-border crime and the European area of justice.

Mr Häkämies thinks that the EU should aim to create for the enlarging Union a consistent and coherent immigration and asylum policy which goes beyond the pillars and respects human rights. The Union must also be better equipped to respond to various kinds of crises.

The High Level Working Group on Asylum and Immigration should finish its final report in early September and submit it to the General Affairs Council just prior to the Tampere Summit.

- In addition to asylum issues, we should also pay special attention to the prevention of illegal immigration and to the rights and obligations of legal immigrants. Human rights and the fight against racism and xenophobia, in particular, must be taken into account when carrying out measures in these fields. Control at the Union’s external borders must be improved in compliance with the Schengen acquis to a more balanced and coherent direction, particularly in view of the future enlargement.

- When combating cross-border crime, we should reinforce cooperation among authorities in the Member States as well as in applicant and partner countries, spesified Minister Häkämies.

Minister of Justice Johannes Koskinen emphasised that individuals should be guaranteed a high level of protection within an area based on freedom, security and justice.

- The cooperation between Member States against international organised crime has improved during the recent years. I am of the opinion that in future we should tackle the preconditions for this kind of crime, of which money laundering is an example. Attention should also be given to the removal of obstacles to practical cooperation.

Mr Koskinen clarified the substance of the European judicial area, which is on the agenda of the Tampere summit. He underlined that Europe should be developed into a uniform judicial area, in which the legal equality and freedom of movement of the Union citizens have been implemented in theory as well as in practice.

- This would mean that when moving within the Union the citizens may rely on a functional legal and administrative system. They also have to be able to feel confident about receiving protection should their rights be violated.

Minister Koskinen stressed that the citizens’ rights have to be implemented in practice too.
- Citizens have to be able to establish the central facts influencing their legal position without undue difficulty. They also have to have sufficient means to enforce their rights – proceedings should not be unattainable nor, for example too expensive or slow.

- In addition to guaranteeing the rights of citizens another goal of the European judicial area is to secure a certain level of legal security, Minister Koskinen said. He remarked that for instance in the field of consumer protection the EU has accomplished considerable work.

- Personal security is also a central element of the European judicial area. People have to be able to lead their lives in a secure environment without the fear of falling victim to crime. In addition to organised crime attention has to be paid to crime prevention. The objective is to see to that young people do not run the risk of getting involved in crime and to combat drug abuse, Minister Koskinen underlined.

The Minister of Justice considered it especially important to improve the position of victims of crime within the EU. Cooperation between the Member States could particularly improve the position of those who fall victim to crime outside their home states.


The ministers of Justice and Home Affairs, who are responsible for the issues to be covered in Tampere, discuss the themes of the Special Meeting of the European Council in their informal meeting in Turku in September 16-17.

Thereafter the preparations for the special meeting continue as normal, that is in the General Affairs Council and at prime ministers’ level.