EU: Sharing airline passenger details and lifting national vetoes on justice issues are on the agenda of EU talks in Tampere, Finland, writes Jamie Smyth
The EU's top justice official has warned of transport chaos if the US and EU fail to agree a deal to share airline passenger data by the end of next week.
Jonathan Faull, who heads the European Commission's justice and home affairs unit, has also called on justice ministers to give up national vetoes on decision-making in justice affairs, warning that people's lives depend on better EU co-ordination, particularly in areas such as illegal immigration and the fight against terrorism.
The EU executive proposes to remove these national vetoes. Mr Faull said he hoped states would take an open and positive view of the proposal. "We know we don't have much time at our disposal because people's lives are at stake," said Mr Faull, speaking ahead of a meeting of EU justice ministers today.
The two-day gathering here in Tampere will cover a range of highly sensitive issues including terrorism, airport security, immigration in the Mediterranean area and changing decision-making in justice and home affairs.
Under current EU rules, decision-making on sensitive issues such as judicial and police co-operation on criminal matters must be made unanimously by all 25 member states. Only in a few justice areas, such as illegal immigration, can EU decisions be agreed by a qualified majority of states, which is the process that governs most EU policy areas, from internal market to environmental legislation.
Mr Faull said this hybrid system of decision-making had led to delays in crucial areas of legislation. Moving to majority voting was not about increasing commission power, but rather it was about having more effective workable policies. It would also give the European Parliament a role in decision-making in a field that affects citizens, he said.
But removing national vetoes over all justice matters - a measure already agreed in the stalled EU constitution - is controversial for states such as Ireland, Britain and Germany. Irish and German officials point out that implementing this aspect of the constitution, which remains blocked following negative referendum results in France and the Netherlands, could further undermine the treaty. It would also remove the bargaining power of these states if a new round of negotiations is required for a new constitution.
But proponents of removing national vetoes over justice matters, such as Finland, argue that one or two member states are holding up vital legislation that is required at EU level to fight terrorism more effectively and deal with illegal immigration.
Ministers will also debate today how EU states can show more solidarity in coping with the numbers of African migrants seeking to enter Spain, Italy and Malta illegally. More than 20,000 migrants have arrived at the Canary Islands this year alone.
Human rights groups estimate that thousands of Africans have drowned or died of exposure this year while attempting to make the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean from states such as Libya, Senegal and Morocco on unseaworthy vessels.
Finland, which holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, will propose that the costs of dealing with immigration should be paid by the EU rather than each state. It also wants states to apply common EU rules on border management, the right to asylum and residency of immigrants, and to require all immigrants to be fingerprinted.
The threat posed by terrorism will be a key agenda item. Ministers will be briefed on the recent foiled plot to blow up airliners travelling from Britain to the US, and proposed common EU airport security measures.
They are also likely to discuss the threat of chaos for transatlantic transport if EU and US negotiators fail to agree a new deal on sharing passenger data. Mr Faull, who is leading negotiations on the issue for the EU, said airlines could face legal actions by passengers or data protection officials unless a deal is agreed before September 30th, a deadline set by the European Court of Justice after it struck down a previous agreement on a legal technicality.
The current deal forces airlines flying from Europe to the US to provide to the US security services 34 items of information on passengers such as name, address, credit card details and meal preferences. This has proved controversial, with MEPs and civil rights activists accusing the EU and US of trampling on privacy rights. But the US is threatening not to sign a new deal unless the EU provides additional data on passengers.