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Mission statement, 2010

The European Union is facing many challenges; challenges that I will work hard to address during my mandate as Commissioner. Responsible for the Home Affairs portfolio, I will focus on two main areas: migration and security. When my mandate is over in 2014, I hope to have achieved:

A Common European Asylum and Migration System, based on solidarity and respect for fundamental rights, where we treat people with dignity and decency. I will therefore strive for:

• A Europe that gives protection in a coherent manner to those in need, while at the same time showing solidarity between EU Member States.
• A consistent control of external borders in order to address irregular migration and trafficking in human beings.
• More legal ways to Europe, making it easier for third country nationals to come to Europe to work.
• A global approach to migration by cooperating closely with countries outside of the EU to manage migration flows and address root causes of migration, such as poverty, conflicts or lack of democracy.
• More widespread visa freedom and visa facilitation, subject to certain conditions, underlining that freedom of movement and openness are among the EU's core values.

A secure Europe, where we together take on the threats of organised crime and terrorism and where we are able to swiftly and actively respond to possible emerging crises. I will therefore work for:

• Effective cooperation between the Member States' law enforcement authorities and EU agencies such as Europol, Eurojust and Frontex in order to increase the EU's capacity to fight organised crime and terrorism.
• A harmonised policy on the definition of crimes, as well as the penalties for serious cross border crimes.
• The development of an Internal Security Strategy that gives the EU better tools to handle threats towards European security.
• Policy development based on the Solidarity clause and an effective crisis management enabling us to limit damage and help citizens, regardless of whether we are confronted with natural disasters or manmade crises.
• A strong respect for privacy, personal integrity and data protection, ensuring that all actions – including data collection and data sharing – in the fight against organised crime and terrorism are proportional and justified.

Horizontally I would like to develop the external dimension of Home Affairs policy, so as to increase the EU's capacity to act as a strong partner internationally.

All my work will be based on transparency, openness and solidarity. I will work in close partnership with the Council, the European Parliament, national parliaments, and civil society. It is my firm belief that informed policy making must be based on dialogue, transparency and accessibility and I will put pride in ensuring that those words guide me during my entire mandate as EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.

Guiding documents: The Stockholm Programme - An open and secure Europe serving and protecting the citizens and the Action Plan Implementing the Stockholm Programme .