EU needs 'boats and helicopters' to combat migration, Frattini says

BRUSSELS - Migration, cross-border police cooperation and international divorce law will dominate a three-day long informal EU interior ministers' meeting in Germany's Dresden (14–16 January).

European justice and home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini urged member states to step-up their efforts in the fight against illegal immigration and strengthen Frontex, the bloc's border security agency.

"Frontex is going to write to member states to ask for their contribution. We need helicopters, boats and planes", Mr Frattini said at the press conference on Sunday (14 January), according to AFP.

Without the help of member states "it will be very difficult to avoid the new streams of immigrants in April, May and June", he added.

It is expected that the pressure on southern and south-eastern Europe (Canary Islands, Lampedusa, Malta) will mount, as many Africans take advantage of favourable weather conditions.

Cross-border police cooperation and home affairs cooperation after 2010 are also high on agenda.

Germany - currently holding the rotating presidency of the EU – wants to transpose the Prüm Treaty into European legislation, a move that would pave the way to the exchange of information among all 27 national police forces.

The Treaty – signed by Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Spain in 2005 – enables the states to give one another automatic access to specific national databases, such as vehicle registration numbers, DNA and fingerprints.

Four other member states – Finland, Italy, Portugal and Slovenia – are eager to accede to the Treaty.

So far, no major player opposes the idea of incorporating the Prüm Treaty into the EU framework, with even the UK acknowledging "it could be a useful tool to fight organized crime."

Divorce law to face opposition

Germany has also tabled a proposal to simplify the application of divorce law across the 27-nation bloc, as 170,000 out of 845,000 divorces annually now involve couples of different nationalities.

For example, if a Czech-German couple living in Belgium decided to divorce, spouses would be allowed to choose which law to apply to their case, or would be automatically referred to a court in Belgium, a place of their latest residence.

But what seems to be a citizen-friendly idea to Germany, along with Austria, France, Italy or Spain, others find in conflict with their national law.

For example, Maltese legal system does not permit divorce; Ireland requires a four-year separation period and will use its opt-out to avoid quick divorces and the United Kingdom has also opted-out, fearing "difficulties and higher costs", according to a UK diplomat.

In addition, not all member states recognize same-sex marriages or life partnerships, raising questions about how to deal with recognition and enforcement of such specific court-decisions.

Holocaust denial rules tabled for the 3rd time

Although not included in the official agenda, German justice minister Brigitte Zypries is also set to promote a proposal on EU-wide minimum sentences for stirring-up racial hatred and denial of acts of genocide, such as the Holocaust.

With anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and xenophobia rising throughout Europe, the European Commission is "one hundred percent behind this idea."

"We have to send a strong signal there is no safe haven within the EU for anyone discriminating against Jews, Muslims or different sexual orientations," a commission spokesperson said.

But it still may be a hard task to pull off, given the fact that member states differ in their historical perceptions and a plan to harmonize rules in this area was ditched twice in the past.

Denying the Holocaust is already illegal in Germany and Austria, while for example in the UK it is allowed under freedom of speech rules, unless it specifically incites racial hatred.