Bid to ensure Tampere summit is more than just a talking shop

Date: 01/07/1999

By Simon Coss

THE success or otherwise of this October's special EU summit on immigration, drugs and crime will only become apparent months after the Union's political leaders have left the Finnish city of Tampere.

At the end of their meeting, EU leaders will undoubtedly make lofty declarations about the need for closer cooperation on these and other sensitive justice and home affairs issues.

But the acid test of their resolve will be whether their professed desire to work together more closely translates into action. So far, there is little evidence to suggest this will be the case.

Justice and home affairs issues touch on some member states' most sensitive areas of national sovereignty. When they were drawing up the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, EU governments decided that policy in this area was so 'special' that it should have its own intergovernmental law-making structure. This procedure, known as the 'third pillar', was basically designed to prevent the European Commission and MEPs having too much of a say in justice and home affairs issues.

Some progress was made this year when the new Amsterdam Treaty transferred certain third-pillar issues into the EU's mainstream law-making structures, but progress in drafting justice and home affairs rules has remained excruciatingly slow.

But despite the size of the task, Helsinki is doing its best to ensure Tampere is more than just another EU talking shop. Finnish officials have already completed a whistle-stop tour of national capitals to discuss the summit agenda, although this exercise was only partially successful.

"Each country stressed the points to which it attached particular importance." said one, who added that if all the issues raised were included on the Tampere agenda, the summit would last for weeks rather than the day-and-a-half set aside for it.

The Finns have now slimmed down what one official described as a "shopping list" to three broad topics.

At the top of October's agenda will be the question of immigration and asylum. Several EU governments still complain that they are having to deal with illegal immigrants who entered the Union via another member state and the summit is also likely to discuss ways of improving existing rules setting out member states' responsibilities for dealing with asylum seekers.

In addition, EU leaders will consider ways of boosting cooperation between their law-enforcement agencies as part of their ongoing crusade against cross-border crime. Despite the creation of the Europol police agency, criminal investigations are still regularly hamstrung by turf battles between national police forces.

The final theme will be what is known as a 'European judicial space'. In practice, this involves persuading member states to recognise each other's procedures in civil and criminal law.

Preview of European Council summit on immigration, drugs and crime, Tampere, October 1999.