Brussels, 26 January 2023
On Thursday 26 January, EU justice and home affairs ministers met in Stockholm for the first informal ministerial meeting under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Sweden’s Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer chaired the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting.
“The fight against cross-border crime will be a top priority during the Swedish Presidency. Ultimately, it is about safeguarding a free and open society,” said Mr Gunnar Strömmer.
“I am pleased to welcome ministerial colleagues from all over the EU to Sweden for urgent discussions on more effective returns and cooperation with third countries,” said Ms Malmer Stenergard.
Cooperation with third countries on returns needs to be more effective
During the morning, the ministers discussed a key component of the EU’s migration policy – the need for an efficient and well-functioning system for returns.
The ministers stressed the importance of using all the tools in the toolbox to achieve more effective cooperation with countries of origin for effective returns and to prevent irregular migration. Both positive and negative incentives are important and we need to act now. In particular, the ministers want to see visa policy used more systematically as a lever.
“Ensuring the effective return of irregular migrants is crucial to ensuring the credibility of the EU’s migration policy,” said Ms Malmer Stenergard.
EU migration policy will be an important item on the agenda of the Special European Council between EU heads of state and government in February. The discussions between the migration ministers were therefore particularly timely.
An effective and humane return policy is an important and integral part of the Government’s migration and asylum policy.
Maria Malmer Stenergard, Minister for Migration
At the working lunch, the ministers discussed how migration challenges can be met using a wide range of actions across all policy areas, in both the long and short term. This includes visa policy, trade, international development cooperation and diplomatic relations. Several Member States have developed well-functioning cooperation across several policy areas, which is key to addressing today’s complex migration challenges.
“We have to move from words to action and make full use of all relevant policy areas when dealing with migration. We need to speak with one voice and deliver coherent and clear messages,” said Ms Malmer Stenergard.
Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi was honoured with a minute’s silence.
The afternoon began with a minute’s silence for the Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi who along with several other people tragically died in a helicopter accident in Kyiv last week. In light of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator was also present to give an update on the internal security dialogue with Ukraine.
The fight against organised crime in the digital age
Security is one of the priorities of the Swedish Presidency. In the afternoon, the ministers discussed access to data, electronic evidence and information for judicial and law enforcement purposes in the digital age.
“Serious crime must be fought across borders. Today’s discussions will therefore form an important basis for our continued work during the Swedish Presidency,” said Mr Strömmer.
Source – EU Council