European flag picture

Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, Responsible for Home Affairs

Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, Responsible for Home Affairs

Home Affairs

Dialogue launched with Kosovo on visa free travel

20/01/2012

This week, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström launched a visa liberalisation dialogue with Kosovo in Pristina. The aim of this dialogue is to eventually lift the visa obligation for citizens of Kosovo. This will only be possible once the Government of Kosovo has implemented substantial reforms in areas such as the security of travel documents; border, migration and asylum management; public order and security issues as well as fundamental rights.


"Our commitment to visa liberalisation for the citizens of Kosovo is real, and I am very pleased that we can now start making concrete progress towards this goal. I know how important visa free travel is to the citizens of Kosovo and I'm happy that we've now set the ball rolling. Whether and how soon citizens obtain the privilege of visa-free travel will nevertheless depend entirely on the Government of Kosovo's continuing efforts to implement reforms in the rule of law area and on concrete progress made on the ground," said Cecilia Malmström.

In the past, the EU launched visa liberalisation dialogues with five Western Balkans countries in order to allow their citizens to travel to the EU without a visa. Following an assessment on the progress made by these countries in implementing major reforms, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia joined the EU's visa-free regime in December 2009 and Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 2010.

During her visit in Kosovo, Commissioner Malmström held bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Hajredin Kuçi and others. She also visited the Centre for Protection of Victims and Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings, a non-profit organisation providing legal assistance, accommodation and education to victims of trafficking.

Find out more and see pictures from the Kosovo visit here.

Read more

Also in the news


First week of tweets for Malmström

17/01/2012

A few days ago, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström joined micro-blogging community Twitter as @MalmstromEU. As her first 140-character contribution, Malmström wrote:
"10 years since opening of Guantanamo. A disgrace that prisoners are still held without trial. President Obama, time to live up to your promise."

Malmström's tweets are in English. The account is managed both by the Commissioner and her cabinet staff, but tweets by the Commissioner are signed with her initials in order to make the distinction clear to readers.

During the past week, tweets have revolved around subjects such as the upcoming French election ("1/3 of French adhere to ideas of Front National. Election risks being ugly. Leadership needed to stand up for European values"), the recently dismantled drug trafficking network in Sweden and Bulgaria ("Crime knows no borders, neither should we") and last year's questions from the European Parliament ("Just learned that EP sent 12 000 questions to the Commission last year. Seems to be a slight inflation of this democratic instrument").

Cecilia Malmström blogs in English and Swedish since several years, but is relatively new to the Twitter universe. About her first impressions, she says:

"To me, Twitter is very useful as a news monitoring tool. And I'm a bit of a news addict, so I am becoming quite hooked already. It is also a perfect way of getting a feel for the debate on different issues, getting to know people's concerns better, and to correct misunderstandings about my own policy field as Commissioner."

Find all of the Commissioners tweets at twitter.com/MalmstromEU
Read more

Synthetic drugs network broken up

12/01/2012

Photo: Europol
An international organised crime network, responsible for the large-scale production and trafficking of synthetic drugs, has been broken up following an extensive investigation by European law enforcement authorities. The operation has resulted in the arrest of the key members of the criminal network, the discovery of 3 illegal drug production facilities and the seizure of over 100 kg of amphetamine, significant quantities of drug precursors, ammunition, firearms and explosives.


“Crime knows no borders, and neither should we. This joint operation goes to show just how immensely important it is for national law enforcement and Europol to effectively exchange information about dangerous criminal activities,” said Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in a comment.

Read more: Europol press release

Read more

International Migrants Day

16/12/2011

"On the occasion of International Migrants Day 18th of December, let me reiterate that the diversity brought by immigrants is a source of dynamism and of cultural richness for our economies and societies.
Europe is changing. We cannot afford to ignore the role immigration plays for our growth and for European competitiveness in the global arena. We must also acknowledge the role immigration will play in the future. Our continent is facing a demographic problem - our society is growing older and there are fewer hands to work in many trades. We need to be realistic: if we want to maintain our standard of living in the future, legal migration, offering the skills we need to make Europe prosperous, has to be part of the solution. Listen to the statement.
Read more

International Anti-Corruption Day: "We need a strong European response"

08/12/2011

In a speech at Transparency International Wednesday, Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström noted that corruption is "a disease which destroys countries from within". Malmström stressed recent initiatives launched by the European Commission and the need to make use of the tools at hand. December 9 is the international day against corruption.

"We need a strong, sustained and European response to the billions being lost to corruption each year. We cannot afford inaction", Malmström said, speaking to participants at the "Tackling Corruption across the EU: Principles into Practice" event held by Transparency International in Brussels.

"We must widen the net. There are tools at our disposal", said Malmström.

The European Commission adopted an anti-corruption package in June this year, as a first step towards a more strategic EU approach to the issue. An EU Anti-Corruption Report will be published every two years, which will give an assessment of Member States' efforts to fight corruption. Malmström also mentioned other initiatives that are in the pipeline, such as better rules on the confiscation of criminal assets and a reform of EU public procurement legislation.

"Corruption eats away at the cultural, political and economic fabric of society, undermining trust in democratic institutions, and weakening the accountability of political leadership", Malmström said.

Read the full speech here. Transparency international have published its annual corruption perception index in connection with the international day against corruption on 9 December. More on the UN day here.
Read more

Last updated: 1/2/2012