Press release
07 December 2009
Ministry of Justice
Beatrice Ask reports to the European Parliament
Today, Minister for Justice Beatrice Ask will report to the European Parliament on the area of the Swedish Presidency for which she has been responsible. Her speech will include an account of what Sweden has accomplished in her area.
Work on the Stockholm Programme has produced results. The Programme, which will be adopted by the European Council later this week, is to guide EU work over the next five years. The Stockholm Programme places clearer focus on the rights of the individual than has been the case with previous programmes.
Furthermore, during the Swedish Presidency, the EU has, for the first time, made progress in strengthening the rights of suspects. The Member States have also reached consensus on stricter criminal regulations against trafficking in human beings. Also, an action-oriented plan has been adopted on cooperation with countries outside the EU in the fight against trafficking in human beings. The EU and the USA have agreed on how judicial and police cooperation is to be conducted over the next five years in the Washington Declaration. The Swedish Presidency also took the initiative for a strategy on how to strengthen the rights of crime victims in the EU. A strategy has been adopted on how to make information exchanges between law enforcement agencies more effective and legally secure. An instrument has been negotiated on the accreditation of forensic laboratories, which will lead to better and more consistent quality of DNA and other tests in the EU. The EU has long tried to reach an agreement on how to introduce a single European patent. Decisive steps were taken in this issue during the Swedish Presidency.
Ms Ask will visit the LIBE committee at 15.00, and the JURI committee at 16.00. After delivering her report, she will be available to the media.
Contact
Martin ValfridssonPress Secretary to Beatrice Ask
