Stockholm Programme
Encyclopedia
The Stockholm Programme is a five-year plan with guidelines for justice
and home affairs of the member states of the European Union
for the years 2010 through 2015.
and rights of groups of people in need of special protection, as well as a citizenship of the European Union
.
In the programme there are also plans for a new European security architecture through the extension of cooperation in the areas of police, military and secret services and measures in the area of border-crossing data exchange between state authorities and surveillance of the internet.
It touches areas as different as homeland
and public security
, migration
(European pact on immigration and asylum), the combat against organized crime
, and even family law
, private law
, inheritance law and others.
There is supposed to be expansion of Europol
and Eurojust
, the establishing of interoperability of police databases, a centralised resident register, improved satellite surveillance
, joined deportation
planes and flights, new refugee camp
s outside the EU territory, usage of the military against immigration, police intervention outside of EU territory, expansion of the European Gendarmerie Force
and intensified cooperation of secret services, etc..
The Stockholm Programme also includes support for the ongoing Prague Process
, stating that the memory of totalitarian crimes "must be a collective memory, shared and promoted, where possible, by us all," and emphasizing that "the Union is an area of shared values, values which are incompatible with crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, including crimes committed by totalitarian regimes."
It has been prepared by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
on its informal meeting on July 15 through 17 of 2009 and was named after the place of its publication (Stockholm
, the capital of Sweden
). After decisions-making by the ministers of the interior and the ministers for justice on the first of December it was presented to the European Council
on 10th and 11th that month for the final referendum on its summit in Brussels.
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
and home affairs of the member states of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
for the years 2010 through 2015.
Contents
The programme contains guidelines for a common politics on the topics of protection of fundamental rights, privacy, minority rightsMinority rights
The term Minority Rights embodies two separate concepts: first, normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or sexual minorities, and second, collective rights accorded to minority groups...
and rights of groups of people in need of special protection, as well as a citizenship of the European Union
Citizenship of the European Union
Citizenship of the European Union was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty . European citizenship is supplementary to national citizenship and affords rights such as the right to vote in European elections, the right to free movement and the right to consular protection from other EU states'...
.
In the programme there are also plans for a new European security architecture through the extension of cooperation in the areas of police, military and secret services and measures in the area of border-crossing data exchange between state authorities and surveillance of the internet.
It touches areas as different as homeland
Homeland security
Homeland security is an umbrella term for security efforts to protect states against terrorist activity. Specifically, is a concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the U.S., reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do...
and public security
Public security
To meet the increasing challenges in the public security area, responsible public institutions and organisations can tap into their own intelligence to successfully address possible threats in advance...
, migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
(European pact on immigration and asylum), the combat against organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
, and even family law
Family law
Family law is an area of the law that deals with family-related issues and domestic relations including:*the nature of marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships;...
, private law
Private law
Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the jus commune that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts or torts, as it is called in the common law, and the law of obligations as it is called in civilian legal systems...
, inheritance law and others.
There is supposed to be expansion of Europol
Europol
Europol is the European Union's criminal intelligence agency. It became fully operational on 1 July 1999....
and Eurojust
Eurojust
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union dealing with judicial co-operation in criminal matters....
, the establishing of interoperability of police databases, a centralised resident register, improved satellite surveillance
Spy satellite
A spy satellite is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications....
, joined deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
planes and flights, new refugee camp
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
s outside the EU territory, usage of the military against immigration, police intervention outside of EU territory, expansion of the European Gendarmerie Force
European Gendarmerie Force
The European Gendarmerie Force was launched by an agreement in 2006 between five members of the European Union : France, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Romania subsequently joined in 2009...
and intensified cooperation of secret services, etc..
The Stockholm Programme also includes support for the ongoing Prague Process
Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism
The Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism , which was signed on 3 June 2008, was a declaration signed by prominent European politicians, former political prisoners and historians, including past signatories of Charter 77 such as Václav Havel, which called for condemnation of and...
, stating that the memory of totalitarian crimes "must be a collective memory, shared and promoted, where possible, by us all," and emphasizing that "the Union is an area of shared values, values which are incompatible with crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes, including crimes committed by totalitarian regimes."
History
After the Tampere Programme of 1999 and the Hague Programme of 2004 it is the third programme of its kind for the states of the European Union.It has been prepared by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Presidency of the Council of the European Union
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...
on its informal meeting on July 15 through 17 of 2009 and was named after the place of its publication (Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, the capital of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
). After decisions-making by the ministers of the interior and the ministers for justice on the first of December it was presented to the European Council
European Council
The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...
on 10th and 11th that month for the final referendum on its summit in Brussels.
Literature
- The Stockholm Programme: An open and secure Europe serving the citizen, Draft, 16th Oktober 2009 (PDF file, 765 KB). OpenDocument Text, (ODFOpenDocumentThe Open Document Format for Office Applications is an XML-based file format for representing electronic documents such as spreadsheets, charts, presentations and word processing documents....
file; 93 KB). - European Civil Liberties NetworkEuropean Civil Liberties NetworkEuropean Civil Liberties Network is a Europe-wide civil liberties advocacy group....
: Statement by the European Civil Liberties Network* on the new EU five-year plan on Justice and Home Affairs. April 2009. (PDF file, 44 KB) - Federal Trust: More than Just a five-year itch?.
- Centre for European ReformCentre for European ReformThe Centre for European Reform is a London-based think tank which supports European integration while arguing for institutional reform of the European Union...
: Seven sins of Stockholm. - German Institute for International and Security AffairsGerman Institute for International and Security AffairsThe Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin is a leading German think tank and the founding institution behind the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.- History, Organization and Functions of the SWP :...
: Reprogramming EU home affairs. - Say No to Stockholm:noblogs.org