3 Strategic guidelines for EU Justice
and Home Affairs and the renewal of the EU Internal Security Strategy
| Committee's assessment
| Politically important |
| Committee's decision | Not cleared from scrutiny; recommended for debate on the floor of the House (decision reported on 9 April 2014); drawn to the attention of the Home Affairs and Justice Select Committees
|
| Document details | (a) Commission Communication: The EU Justice Agenda for 2020 — Strengthening Trust, Mobility and Growth within the Union
(b) Commission Communication: An open and secure Europe: making it happen
|
| Legal base | (Both) —
|
| Department
Document numbers
| Home Office and Ministry of Justice
(a) (35874), 7838/14, COM(14) 144
(b) (35887), 7844/14 + ADD 1, COM(14) 154
|
Summary and Committee's conclusions
3.1 Since 1999, the European Council has agreed strategic
guidelines for the development of EU justice and home affairs
policies and legislation. The latest set of guidelines to govern
legislative and operational planning at EU level for the period
2015-20 was agreed by the European Council in June 2014.[7]
The Commission Communications — one covering EU justice
policy, the other home affairs — were the only publicly
accessible EU documents published in advance of the European Council.
They sought to review progress to date, identify future challenges,
and set out the political priorities which, in the Commission's
view, should guide EU action up until 2020.
3.2 The home affairs Communication — document
(b) — identified "a Europe that protects" as one
of the EU's five thematic priorities. It suggested that the EU
Internal Security Strategy, agreed in 2010, should be updated
for the period 2015-20 and internal security concerns addressed
more systematically in the EU's external relations. A series of
actions were proposed to disrupt international criminal networks,
prevent terrorism, and tackle radicalisation and recruitment.
3.3 We recommended the Communications for debate,
in April 2014, noting that the EU's new strategic guidelines would
have an important impact on the work not only of our Committee,
but also of the Home Affairs and Justice Select Committees. We
said that the debate should take place on the floor of the House
so that all interested Members would have the opportunity to express
their views on the content of the strategic guidelines and the
future direction of EU justice and home affairs policy in advance
of the meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs Council and
European Council in June 2014. That debate has yet to take place.
Instead, in July 2014, the Home Office Minister for Modern Slavery
and Organised Crime (Karen Bradley) and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary
at the Ministry of Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara) wrote to inform
us of the content of the strategic guidelines agreed by the European
Council the previous month.
3.4 We reminded the Ministers that we are a European
scrutiny committee, not a European information committee.
Our task, as stated in the Standing Orders of the House, is to
alert Members to documents which have some legal or political
significance and, where appropriate, to recommend a debate so
that the House has an opportunity to inform and influence Government
policy. We made clear that, to be both meaningful and effective,
the accountability of Government to Parliament has to operate
before decisions are taken which determine the strategic
direction of a policy area which, as in this case, has a direct
bearing on the rights and liberties of individual citizens.
3.5 The Minister (Karen Bradley) now writes to us
again, explaining that the EU Internal Security Strategy agreed
in 2010 expired at the end of 2014 and setting out the next steps
for agreeing a renewed Strategy, most of which will take place
after Parliament has been dissolved at the end of March.
3.6 The much-anticipated Commission Communication
on the successor to the now expired EU Internal Security Strategy
is expected to be published in April, while Parliament is dissolved,
and the new Strategy to be formally agreed at the June 2015 Justice
and Home Affairs Council. This means that neither this Committee
nor, in all likelihood, its successor, will be able to scrutinise
the Strategy before discussions on its content have concluded.
3.7 Whilst the Government cannot be held responsible
for the timing of the decision-making process in Brussels, it
was clear last June, when the European Council agreed the EU's
new strategic guidelines, that a successor EU Internal Security
Strategy would be agreed "by mid-2015". This makes the
Government's failure to schedule a timely debate on the strategic
guidelines all the more deplorable and indefensible. As the Minister
will be only too well aware, by the time our successor Committee
has the opportunity to consider the Commission Communication,
the Strategy will have been agreed and Parliament, once again,
deprived of the opportunity to inform and influence the strategic
direction of policies which have a direct bearing on the rights
and interests of individual citizens.
3.8 We draw the Minister's attention to the recital
to the Conclusions agreed by the Justice and Home Affairs Council
last December which purports to recognise the need for national
parliaments to be involved in the development of a renewed EU
Internal Security Strategy. We suggest that, at this late stage
of the Parliament, the only means for the Government to breathe
life into its commitment to "reduce the democratic deficit
over EU matters" and to make the Government "more accountable
for the decisions it makes in the EU" is to schedule a debate
— now nearly a year overdue — on the strategic guidelines,
thereby facilitating a broader discussion of the future direction
of the EU Internal Security Strategy.[8]
Full
details of the documents: (a) Commission
Communication: The EU Justice Agenda for 2020 — Strengthening
Trust, Mobility and Growth within the Union: (35874), 7838/14,
COM(14) 144; (b) Commission Communication: An open and secure
Europe: making it happen: (35887), 7844/14 + ADD 1, COM(14)
154.
Background
3.9 Our earlier Reports, listed at the end of this
chapter, summarise the content of these Communications, as well
as a subsequent Communication, published in June 2014, reviewing
the progress made in implementing the (now expired) EU Internal
Security Strategy for 2010-14.
3.10 In June 2014, the European Council agreed Conclusions
on the EU Area of Freedom, Security and Justice which establish
"strategic guidelines for legislative and operational planning"
in the justice and home affairs field up to 2020. They include
a commitment to:
· "review and update" the EU Internal
Security Strategy by "mid-2015";
· prevent and combat serious and organised
crime, including human trafficking and smuggling, as well as corruption;
· ensure that the EU has an effective counter-terrorism
policy; and
· develop tools, such as an EU Passenger
Name Record system, to prevent radicalisation and extremism and
to tackle the phenomenon of foreign fighters.
3.11 Shortly afterwards, in July 2014, we considered
a Commission Communication reviewing the soon-to-expire EU Internal
Security Strategy. The Commission reaffirmed the relevance of
the five strategic objectives underpinning the Strategy. These
are to:
· disrupt international criminal networks;
· prevent terrorism and address radicalisation
and recruitment;
· raise levels of cyber security for citizens
and businesses;
· strengthen security through border management;
and
· increase Europe's resilience to crises
and disasters.
3.12 The Commission also highlighted areas of work
which it expected to feature in a fresh Communication on a successor
Strategy, to be published early in 2015, following consultation
with Member States, the European Parliament, and stakeholders
representing civil society, academia and the private sector. It
indicated that the revised Strategy would incorporate three "cross-cutting
objectives":
· better mechanisms to ensure coherence
and complementarity between the internal and external aspects
of EU security policies;
· recognition of respect for fundamental
rights as an integral element of internal security policies through
the effective application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
and other relevant secondary legislation; and
· the effective use of EU funding mechanisms,
including in the field of research, to address internal security
challenges, and the provision of training at EU level to forge
"a common law enforcement cooperation culture", build
mutual trust and support practical cooperation.
3.13 In clearing the Communication from scrutiny,
we noted that there was likely to be a considerable degree of
thematic continuity in the revised EU Internal Security Strategy,
with a particular focus on serious and organised crime, cybercrime,
terrorism, radicalisation and crisis management, and border security,
but with a more detailed set of actions to accompany each strategic
objective.
3.14 This is borne out by the Conclusions agreed
by the Justice and Home Affairs Council in December 2014 which
provide the clearest indication so far of the Council's priorities
for the next Internal Security Strategy.[9]
The Conclusions:
· expressly recognise "the need for
an involvement of the European Parliament and national Parliaments",
as well as the central role of the EU Standing Committee on internal
security (COSI) in promoting operational cooperation and in monitoring
and implementing the EU's Internal Security Strategy;
· identify the following "main common
threats and challenges": serious and organised crime; terrorism,
radicalisation and recruitment, and terrorist financing; cybercrime
and cyber security; threats associated with the use of new technologies;
monitoring of new and emerging threats; and crises and natural
or man-made disasters;
· set out the main components for ensuring
a comprehensive and coherent approach encompassing law enforcement,
border management, judicial and customs authorities, civil protection
agencies, public and private sector bodies, NGOs, Member States,
EU institutions and international organisations;
· underline the need to develop closer links
between internal and external security;
· make clear that the protection of fundamental
rights should be integrated into the EU's legislative and operational
work in the field of internal security; and
· call for greater emphasis to be placed
on strengthening operational cooperation and on the "consistent,
coherent and effective implementation, application and consolidation
of existing tools, legislation and policy measures".
The Minister's letter of 3 March 2015
3.15 The Minister (Karen Bradley) first describes
the five strategic objectives set out in the EU Internal Security
Strategy which expired at the end of December 2014 (see paragraph
3.11) and notes that the Commission has published three implementation
reports to monitor progress, the most recent last June. She refers
to the commitment to review and update the EU Internal Security
Strategy (ISS) by mid-2015 contained in the new strategic guidelines
agreed by the European Council in June 2014, and continues:
"The Government considers that this is an
important opportunity to update the existing ISS to reflect the
changing world we are operating within. Following the recent attacks
in Paris and the disruption of plots throughout Europe, the UK
wants particularly to see action taken at a European level to
tackle the current threat of terrorism from individuals returning
from Syria and Iraq."
3.16 The Minister lists the Government's priorities
for inclusion in the revised Internal Security Strategy:
· addressing the movement of foreign fighters
and weapons throughout Europe;
· ensuring that aviation security keeps
pace with the evolving threat;
· supporting the removal of online terrorist
and extremist propaganda through referrals at the European level;
· enhancing EU efforts to help Member States
be more proactive in countering radicalisation and extremism through
strategic communications;
· achieving more proactive information-sharing
between law enforcement agencies;
· ensuring more international co-ordination
to address the continual threat from cybercrime;
· tackling the specific crimes of human
trafficking, slavery and the abuse of free movement; and
· enhancing efforts to strengthen the EU's
external borders and ensuring that all Member States operate effective
asylum and border management systems.
3.17 The Minister considers that the Conclusions
agreed by the Justice and Home Affairs Council in December 2014
reflect these UK priorities, adding:
"In particular, the Council Conclusions
include calls for EU level action to tackle the 'different forms
and consequences of' human trafficking. We consider this to be
a significant commitment at EU level to addressing human trafficking
and its read across to the wider issue of modern slavery. In addition,
there were references to preventing terrorism and addressing radicalisation;
enhancing information sharing; tackling cybercrime; and the reinforcement
of the role of COSI [the Standing Committee on operational cooperation
on internal security] in monitoring and implementing the new ISS."
3.18 The Minister outlines the "next steps"
which she expects to take place after the dissolution of Parliament
but which will remain subject to the usual scrutiny arrangements.
"You will be aware that the European Commission
launched an open consultation on the renewal of the ISS in summer
2014 and the UK provided a detailed response to this, based on
the key priorities detailed above. The Commission's follow-up
Communication on a 'European Agenda for Security' is expected
to issue in April, by which time Parliament would have been dissolved.
We expect the Communication to draw on the JHA Council Conclusions
from December as discussed above. We also anticipate that it will
take into account the recent events such as the Paris attacks
in January. Your Committee will, of course, receive the customary
EM on this document."
3.19 The Minister expects the revised EU Internal
Security Strategy to be agreed at the Justice and Home Affairs
Council in June, fulfilling the commitment in the strategic guidelines
for review and renewal by mid-2015. She continues:
"This will stem from the 'European Agenda
on Security' but at present it is unclear what form the new ISS
agreed at Council will take; whether it will be the Communication
itself or Council Conclusions stemming from it. I hope that the
update on progress above is helpful in setting out the Government's
approach and key priorities for inclusion in the new ISS that
will be agreed."
3.20 The Minister says she will continue to "update
the Committee on any future developments".
Previous Committee Reports
Eighth Report HC 219-viii (2014-15), chapters 1 and
15 (16 July 2014); Third Report HC 219-iii (2014-15), chapter
2 (18 June 2014); and Forty-sixth Report HC 83-xli (2013-14),
chapter 3 (9 April 2014).
7 See Conclusions of the European Council. Back
8
Written Ministerial Statement of 20 January 2011, Hansard, 51-52WS. Back
9
See Council Conclusions. Back
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