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Europaudvalget 2006-07
Det Europæiske Råd 21-22/6-07 Bilag 3
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COUNCIL OF

THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 4 June 2007

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POLGEN 61

NOTE

from:

to:

Subject:

Presidency

COREPER

European Council (21 and 22 June 2007)

– Draft conclusions

The Presidency hereby submits to Coreper draft conclusions to be agreed by the European Council

at its meeting on 21-22 June 2007.

The text will continue to be updated in the light of the work underway, in particular as regards the

preparation of the forthcoming JHA Council.

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The meeting of the European Council was preceded by an exposé by the President of the European

Parliament, Mr Hans-Gert Pöttering, followed by an exchange of views.

Europe is united in its resolve that only by working together can we represent our interests

and goals in the world of tomorrow. The European Union is determined to contribute its ideas

of a sustainable, efficient and just economic and social order to the global process.

The European Union faces a twofold responsibility. In order to secure our future as an active

player in a rapidly changing world and in the face of ever-growing challenges, we have to

maintain and develop the European Union's capacity to act and its accountability to the

citizen. That is why we have to focus our efforts on the necessary internal reform process. At

the same time, the European Union is called upon to shape European policy here and now for

the benefit of Europe's citizens.

The most recent success stories include the Roaming Regulation which reduces the cost of

modern communication in Europe, the creation of the European payment area which makes

travelling and living together easier in the EU and the constant improvement of consumer

rights which guarantee citizens the same high standards across the entire European Union.

With its decisions on an integrated climate and energy policy the European Council in

Spring 2007 paved the way for improved climate protection and dealing responsibly with

energy.

Ever closer crossborder police and judicial cooperation means more security for everyone. At

the same time the EU is working to protect and strengthen civil liberties at European level.

Contributing to the day-to-day life of its citizens and securing the European Union's ability to

act in the future: with this twofold goal in mind, the European Council today adopted the

following conclusions.

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TREATY REFORM PROCESS

p.m.

II.

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

[Provisional

language; needs to be adapted in the light of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on

/13

June 2007]

On the basis of the Tampere and Hague Programmes significant progress has been made in

developing the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice. The European Council

stresses the need to continue the implementation of those programmes and to work on the

succession to them in order to further strengthen Europe's internal security as well as the

fundamental freedoms and rights of citizens.

Recent events have demonstrated once again the need to make rapid progress in developing a

comprehensive European migration policy,

capable of taking account of all aspects of

migration, based on a genuine partnership with third countries and fully integrated into the

Union's external policies. The European Council welcomes the progress already made in

implementing the priority actions focussing on Africa and the Mediterranean as part of the

Global Approach to Migration and calls for work on these priority actions to be taken forward

and intensified. The European Council also welcomes the Commission's Communication of

16 May 2007 on applying the Global Approach to Migration to the eastern and south-eastern

regions. [Acknowledging the need for intensified and more coordinated cooperation with

these regions, the European Council endorses the Council Conclusions of 18 June 2007,

including the list of priority measures.] The European Council also recalls the importance it

attaches to ensuring that adequate resources are available, within the existing financial

programmes, for implementing the comprehensive migration policy.

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The European Council underlines the importance of closer cooperation with third countries in

managing migration flows. Specific partnerships on migration with third countries could

contribute to a coherent migration policy which combines measures aimed at possible benefits

of legal migration, fighting illegal migration, protecting refugees and tackling the root causes

of migration. The possibility of mobility partnerships should be further explored as well as

possibilities for circular migration in the light of the Commission's communication of

16 May 2007 [and recalling the Council conclusions of 18 June 2007].

10.

The European Council reaffirms the need for the Union's capacity to contribute to the

management of the external borders of Member States to be reinforced and underlines the

importance of continuing to strengthen the capacity of FRONTEX for this purpose. The

European Council therefore welcomes the agreement reached on the establishment of Rapid

Border Intervention Teams, the launching of the Coastal Patrol Network, and the creation of a

centralised "toolbox" of technical equipment available to be put at the disposal of Member

States. The European Council calls for the Rapid Border Intervention Teams to be made

operational as soon as possible and for the new possibilities created by the Coastal Patrol

Network and the "toolbox" to be used to the full.

11.

The European Council welcomes the recent agreement on the Regulation on the Visa

Information System and the exchange of data between Member States on short-stay visas as

well as the Council Decision on access for consultation of the VIS by designated authorities

of Member States and by Europol for the purposes of prevention, detection and investigation

of terrorist offences as further important steps in improving the security of citizens.

12.

The European Council likewise welcomes the efforts that have been made in order to improve

the continued and deepened cooperation at EU level and between Member States in the area

of integration and intercultural dialogue. [The European Council welcomes, in particular, the

Council Conclusions of 12 June on the strengthening of integration policies in the EU by

promoting unity in diversity.] It emphasises the importance of further initiatives to facilitate

the exchange of experiences on integration policies of the Member States.

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13.

The European Council will review all aspects of the implementation of the comprehensive

migration policy at its next meeting in December 2007 on the basis of a report from the

Commission. This report should include progress on the application of the Global Approach

to Migration to Africa and the Mediterranean as well as first progress on the application of the

Global Approach to Migration to the eastern and south-eastern regions neighbouring the

European Union.

14.

The

extension of the Schengen area

continues to be a high priority for the EU. Fulfilment of

all the requirements to apply the Schengen acquis in full is essential for the success of this

extension. The European Council welcomes the preparatory work undertaken through the SIS

One4All project and encourages the Member States participating in the project to continue

their endeavours to meet all the requirements for the lifting of controls at internal borders

within the foreseen timeframe. At the same time the European Council urges the Commission

to complete the remaining work within the scheduled time frame in order to finalise the SIS II

project by December 2008 at the latest.

15.

Particular efforts must continue to be made to strengthen police and judicial cooperation and

the fight against terrorism. Europe's citizens expect the EU to take decisive action to preserve

their freedom and security, particularly in the fight against terrorism and organised crime.

16.

The recent decision to integrate the essential provisions of the Prüm Treaty into the Union's

legal framework will help to intensify cross-border police cooperation. In the same context

the European Council underlines the importance of strengthening further Europol's

operational capabilities and welcomes the decision of the Council to transform the Europol

Convention into a Council Decision.

17.

Safeguarding citizens' rights

is as vital to creating an area of freedom, security and justice as

ensuring protection for Europe's citizens. In this respect the European Council in particular

requests the Council to reach agreement before the end of the year on the Framework

Decision on the protection of personal data processed in the framework of police and judicial

cooperation in criminal matters.

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18.

[The European Council calls for work on the Framework Decision on certain procedural

rights in criminal proceedings to be finalised as soon as possible in order to contribute to

increasing confidence in the legal systems of other Member states and thus to facilitate the

mutual recognition of judicial decisions]. [The recent agreement on the Framework Decision

on combating certain forms of racism and xenophobia is a clear signal for Europe committed

to the fight against intolerance.]

19.

In the interest of European citizens rapid agreement is needed on the Regulation on the

applicable law relating to contractual obligations (Rome I), as well as those on jurisdiction

and applicable law in matrimonial matters (Rome III) and on maintenance obligations.

20.

The Council is requested to continue its work on evaluating the consistency and coherence of

the provisions of contract law in Community law, particularly consumer contract law. The

objective remains to establish a non-binding common frame of reference for European

contract law containing general principles to be used in the revision of existing legislation and

the drafting of future legislation.

21.

The European Council acknowledges the progress made in developing legislation for the

exchange of information on national criminal convictions on a European basis. The Council

should also further promote electronic communication on legal matters ("E-Justice") in the

criminal as well as the civil areas.

22.

The European Council welcomes the communication from the Commission on the fight

against cybercrime and calls for the development of a policy framework in this field.

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III. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

23.

Further strengthening the four freedoms of the

internal market

and improving its functioning

remain of paramount importance for growth, competitiveness and employment. The European

Council looks forward to the presentation of the Commission's Single Market Review,

together with accompanying proposals, in the autumn. It calls on the Council and the

European Parliament to make rapid progress on the mutual recognition and new approach

Regulations.

p.m. postal services

24.

The European Council invites the Council to swiftly agree on the first two proposals for Joint

Technology Initiatives (ARTEMIS, on embedded computer systems, and Innovative

Medicines Initiative) and invites the Commission to present as rapidly as possible the

remaining Joint Technology Initiatives identified in the Specific Program "Cooperation"

implementing the 7th Framework Program for Research. The European Council welcomes the

fact that work on the Regulation for the European Institute of Technology is advancing well

and therefore invites the Council to reach, at its meeting on 25 June, a general approach on

this Regulation, including financial aspects [on the financing of a budget of up to 309 mio

Euro until 2013 in accordance with Community budgetary procedures]. The European

Council is confident that the final decision of Council and European Parliament will be taken

before the end of this year. The European Council welcomes the initiative for a European

Charter for the use of intellectual property from public research institutions and universities

(IP-Charter) to improve the knowledge transfer between research and industry and its

contribution to the development of the European Research Area.

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25.

In the

social policy area,

work on coordination of the social security systems must be pursued

vigorously with a view to resolving the remaining outstanding chapters as soon as possible.

The Council is invited to reach agreement before the end of the year on the Directive on the

portability of supplementary pension rights. Member States are invited to rapidly implement

the recently adopted Community Strategy 2007-2012 on health and safety at work, which will

strengthen the overall approach to well-being at work and relaunch prevention policies and

improvements for workers. The European Council invites Member States, the Commission

and social partners to make good use of the Alliance for Families to promote good practices

and innovative approaches on family friendly policies.

26.

HIV/AIDS

remains a matter of serious concern. Action to tackle the global HIV/AIDS

pandemic should include broad based prevention, training of health care personnel, awareness

raising in all groups of society and tackling the cost of treatment. The European Council

invites the Commission to implement its action plan on combating HIV/AIDS within the

European Union and in the neighbouring countries 2006-2009 and the European Programme

for Action to Confront HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis through external

action 2007-2011. It is for the Member States to provide the political leadership to fight this

pandemic. The pharmaceutical industry should facilitate access to affordable medicines and

cooperate in securing distribution channels for drugs against HIV/AIDS together with

government institutions and NGOs.

p.m. Heiligendamm on post-2012

27.

The European Council recalls its conclusions of March 2007 on an integrated climate and

energy policy. It stresses the importance of implementing effectively and speedily all aspects

of the comprehensive energy Action Plan with a view to the Energy Policy for Europe. On

climate protection,

it looks forward to the timely presentation by the Commission of a

proposal for an amendment of the directive on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme based on

the review process and the Council recommendations. It underlines the Union's intention to

include aviation activities in the scheme in a way that does not adversely affect

competitiveness.

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28.

The European Council welcomes the wide debate, in particular at the Bremen Conference in

May 2007, that has taken place in Europe on the future Maritime Policy and invites the

Commission to come forward with a European Action Plan to be presented in October.

Taking into account the principle of subsidiarity, this Action Plan should aim at exploring the

full potential of sea-based economic activity in an environmentally sustainable manner.

p.m. extension of euro area.

IV. EXTERNAL RELATIONS

p.m. European Neighbourhood Policy

Central Asia

29.

The European Council adopted an EU strategy on Central Asia. This strategy will serve as an

overall framework for EU policies in the fields of human rights, rule of law, good governance

and democracy, education, economic development, trade and investment, energy and

transport, environmental policies, migration and inter-cultural dialogue. The strategy defines

the EU's priorities for its cooperation with the region as a whole, but is also tailored to the

specific requirements and performance of each Central Asian state. The European Council

asks the Council to regularly review progress in implementing this strategy and to submit a

first progress report to the European Council by the middle of 2008.

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