EU: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 23.11.95
01 November 1995
The meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Minister on 23 November yet again failed to agree on:
1. the role of the European Court of Justice in the Europol Convention - with the UK continuing standing out against the other 14 EU governments.
2. a Joint Action on Racism, with the UK opposed.
The Council did adopted a number of measures:
1. Harmonised application of the definition of refugee status in Article 1 of the Geneva Convention.
2. A Joint Position on airport transit arrangements.
3. Declaration on extradition.
UK at odds with EU partners
Michael Howard, the UK Home Secretary, came under attack on a number of issues at the Council. He opposed the adopted of a draft Joint Action on Racism saying "a great deal remains to be decided" and complained of being "lectured" by other EU Ministers on the need to combat racism during a heated exchange of views. Mr Howard, it was said, "did not wish to sign up for anything which might damage British race relations", an argument which was incomprehensible to the German and Dutch Ministers. The Presidency had hoped agreement of the Joint Action would counter balance the new restrictive measures on immigration and refugees (see below).
The main provisions in the Joint Action are: undertakings to break up racist groups, to ban the printing, distribution and marketing of racist material and to give anti-racist organisations an "active role" in bringing legal actions against racism. The Joint Action would also establish cooperation in the confiscation of racist publications, the control of the international dissemination of racist material and information exchange to assist criminal prosecutions.
Mr Belloch, the Spanish Presidency spokesperson and Interior and Justice Minister, said that discussion of the issue of the definition of a refugee left one country, the UK, "standing alone". Mr Howard wanted the measure to be a Recommendation not a Joint Position which is binding but he had to give way on this. To save face COREPER (the committee of permanent government representatives) agreed an amendment, the day before the Council meeting, saying that "The Joint Position.. shall not bind the legal authorities or affect decisions of the legal authorities of the Member States".
Another tussle took place over the proposed Joint Action on airport transit arrangements. This sets out that airline travellers from an agreed list of countries will have to obtain a transit visa to they land at an EU airport when they are intending to change planes for another destination (that is, they never leave the airport). It is intended to stop passengers entering a EU states without a visa and then trying to make an asylum application. The countries on the list are: Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Somalia, Sri Lanka and Zaire. Germany had signalled a Reservation over the inclusion of Zaire on the list of countries and the UK a Reservation on the inclusion of Bangla Desh and Pakistan. Germany withdrew its Reservation at the meeting but the UK did not so the Joint Action was agreed without these two countries. 13 EU Ministers then immediately signed a joint declaration saying they intend to include Bangla Desh and Pakistan on the list - with the UK and Ireland (tied to the UK by a common travel area) left out (the UK transit visa list, updated on 23 October, does not include Eritrea, Ethiopia or Ghana but does include China, Turkey and Uganda; in the UK the 1987 Carriers Liability Act applies to airlines bringing in passengers without transit visas). The Joint Action was agreed but formal adoption await another Council meeting.
For the Spanish Presidency Mr Belloch expressed outright frustration at the UK's opposition to the inclusion of the European Court of Justice in the Europol Convention which has to be resolved by June 1996. "We cannot allow this to drag on any longer", he said. When asked the direct question: "Has the UK agreed t