EU under pressure to speed up anti-terror, immigration laws

19 September 2006

European Union justice and interior ministers will be pushed this week to give up national veto rights over sensitive policies blamed for holding back EU-wide measures on fighting terrorism and illegal immigration. EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini is expected to appeal to ministers from the 25 EU nations to replace the current system of unanimity with majority voting rules, which he said are necessary to overcome current deadlocks.

The call has strong backing from French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, who last week complained the unanimity rule meant that ministerial meetings often failed to agree on the agenda, let alone take policy decisions. However, the British government was under pressure not to give up its right to veto EU legislation on immigration and crime fighting.

"Harmonization of home affairs is a flawed approach," Britain's opposition Conservative Party said in a statement Wednesday. "It denies our police and security services the flexibility they need to stay one step ahead of the terrorists."

Finnish Interior Minister Kari Rajamaki, who is hosting the two-day talks, backed the calls for change but stressed the need for common EU policies. "Europe has to understand that it needs common immigration and asylum policies as well as practices that all member states will adhere to," Rajamaki told reporters on the eve of the meeting. "Moving toward qualified majority voting in the field of police cooperation is important for the EU's internal security." Rajamaki suggested vetoes be dropped for border control, visa rules and exchange of police information. But several countries, including Germany and Denmark, are loath to give up their veto rights over such sensitive policy areas.

The European Commission also wants to coordinate and boost efforts throughout the 25-nation bloc to improve anti-terror detection technologies that could spot potential terrorists and screen luggage for explosives.

Meeting in this lakeside city six years ago, EU governments set themselves a 2010 target for adopting a common policy on immigration and asylum, but progress has been slow, prompting the calls for an end to national vetoes.