Conference on "Best Practice" – Protection of Children (Alert Systems)

On May 19, 2009 the Prague Congress Centre hosted a conference focused on Child Alert Systems in the EU countries. The main objective of the conference was to present the child alert systems used in some European countries and so help to create such systems in those countries that do not have them.
The Czech Minister of the Interior, Martin Pecina, who opened the conference, in his opening speech mentioned the Portuguese and French Presidency, to which this conference was a follow-up. The Minister also stressed that this effort was not to create an international programme, but to connect the existing national systems: “The issue of child alert systems is closely connected with the Czech Presidency motto, which is “An Open and Safe Europe“. The number of missing children in the Czech Republic as well as in the rest of Europe is increasing. It is necessary to solve this problem comprehensively on a European level, especially with regard to the almost unlimited possibilities of free movement in Europe. “
In the afternoon, the Director of the Crime Prevention Department, Jitka Gjuričová,

presented a project of the Ministry of the Interior called “The National Coordination Mechanism of Searching for Missing Children”. This project is analogous to the European Child Alert System. It is a system developed for the purpose of quickly finding missing children. It relies on involving the general public in the investigation and also on providing mental support to the families of the missing children.
The National Coordination Mechanism of Searching for Missing Children is based on four main points: police investigation and searching (already done at a very good level – 98% success), a well-developed information system (cooperation with the media and recently also with mobile carriers), cooperation with the public, and mental support provided to the victims’ families.
Caroline Humer from the American International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children also had her presentation in the afternoon. The conference was concluded by Michael Weiss from the SIRENE National Centre, who presented the results of a questionnaire focused on improving cooperation in searching for missing children by means of the Schengen Information System.

The EU and Russian Federation Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs met in Kaliningrad

On May 14 and 15,.2009, the Russian city of Kaliningrad hosted a meeting of the EU and Russian Federation Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs within the Permanent Partnership Council.
The European Union was represented by the Czech Minister of the Interior, Martin Pecina, the Minister of Justice, Daniela Kovářová, the Director General of the European Commission's Justice, Freedom and Security Department, Jonathan Faull, the Europol Director, Robert Wainwright, and the representatives of Frontex and Eurojust. Sweden, who will assume the EU Presidency after the Czech Republic, was represented by the Minister of Justice, Beatrice Ask and the Minister of Migration and Asylum Policy, Tobias Billström. The Russian Federation was led by the Minister of Justice and representative of the Russian president for cooperation with the EU in the areas of freedom, security and justice, Alexander Konovalov, and the Minister of the Interior, Rashid Nurgaliev.
“We evaluated the state of the cooperation between the Russian Federation and the EU in the areas of freedom, security and justice. The cooperation is good and successful especially in the area of freedom,“ said the Minister of the Interior, Martin Pecina.

The topics of the meeting:

Migration and border issues:
”Since the previous meeting of the Permanent Partnership Council we have achieved great progress in the area of migration flows control. At the ministerial conference on “Building Migration Partnerships “, organized by the Ministry of the Interior in Prague, we agreed on the joint “Prague Declaration on Migration“. This declaration means another significant step towards intensifying the dialogue and cooperation between the EU and the Russian Federation in all the relevant migration issues. In our discussions today we also picked up the threads of this declaration,“ said the Minister of the Interior.
The current status of the visa dialogue and of the implementation of the facilitation and readmission agreement between the European Union and the Russian Federation:
Within the evaluation of the implementation of the facilitation and readmission agreement between the EC and the Russian Federation all the three parties agreed on the fact that the cooperation was successful and constructive. The full and correct implementation of the agreement on facilitating visa procedures and of the readmission agreement is a key factor for the continuing visa dialogue.
The fight against computer crime

”At today’s meeting we emphasized the need for intensifying the cooperation between the police forces that investigate computer crime. It is very important for us to be able to respond to Internet crime quickly and jointly. We are focusing on the prevention of this phenomenon – we are intensifying cooperation, sharing experience and focusing on know-how,“ added Martin Pecina.

The fight against organized crime
The ministers agreed on the fact that cooperation in fighting organized crime is very important. They also agreed on the need to intensify this cooperation. When asked by the Czech Presidency about the level of personal data protection in the Russian Federation the Russian colleagues declared that they wanted to introduce the personal data protection system to their European colleagues with transparency and openness. The Russian side expressed readiness to continue in expert meetings during which these open issues would be solved so that the EU could authorize Europol to start negotiations with the Russian Federation about concluding a contract on operational cooperation as soon as possible. The Minister of the Interior, Martin Pecina, also pointed out the importance of the ROCTA (Russian Organized Crime Threat Assessment). This report summarizes the situation in the area of Russian speaking organized crime and its impact on the situation in the EU. In the future, the report should be used as a basis of further practical cooperation. The main recommendation of the report is the need to intensify police and justice cooperation.
Cooperation between the Russian Federation and Europol
The fight against drugs
The ministers agreed that drug dealing was problematic, especially in central Asia. They said it was necessary to respond to the situation jointly by intensifying cooperation. Similarly, they agreed on the necessity of cooperation in fighting the sale of synthetic drugs and precursors, which pose an imminent threat to our countries.

PRIORITIES OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR
Priority No.10: A new multi-annual programme for Justice and Home Affairs

We are expecting that during 2009 a new long-term programme will be established which will state general priorities and political goals concerning internal security of the EU in the years 2010 – 2014, and that at the same time will reflect current problems in this area, enlargement of the EU to 27 states and also the possibility of the Lebanon Treaty becoming effective. In the past, the Czech Republic has already actively participated in the activities of the Future Group advisory team which dealt with future developments in the fields of justice and internal affairs. It also made a contribution to the group’s final report, whose content should be an inspiration for the new EU programme. Towards the end of the Czech Presidency, the European Commission will present its proposal and it will be then discussed by member states as well as the European Parliament. The Czech Republic is eager to participate in the intensive preparations of the new long- term plan and has prepared its contribution to the new long-term programme which outlines in detail the issues, as envisaged by the Czech Republic, which should be incorporated into the programme.

Half a year of Presidency through the eyes of Markéta Matlochová, spokesperson for the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.

What do you find most interesting about your work for the Presidency and what are the aspects of your job that you could do without?
What I like most about this job is the fact that every day is totally different; one day we are extremely busy dealing with questions from journalists, answering phones and scheduling interviews, the following day we need to get ahead with organizing a press conference from scratch and the day after we realise we need to work on a leaflet or a newspaper release or a brochure... During the course of the Presidency we have gradually met a number of foreign media representatives and have built mutual relationships and I am grateful that we were able to do so. What I could really do without these days is the business trips abroad, as they are all extremely demanding and there has been a large number of them over the past five months. On the other hand, I am quite certain that they will be one of the things that I will miss after the Presidency is finished...
What do you consider to be the greatest success for the Ministry of the Interior while presiding the EU? What was the biggest achievement?
The ministerial conferences that we held in Prague probably left me with the most positive impression. As an example I would

like to mention the conferences ‘Safer Internet for Children’, ‘Building Migration Partnerships’ and the ministerial Troika EU – US. We prepared thoroughly for all our conferences and they kept us busy day and night. Colleagues from other divisions organised ‘their’ events showing a great sense of responsibility and professionalism. In terms of media coverage, the conferences on safer internet and on migration were the most widely covered by national as well as international media since the very beginning of the Czech Presidency. We managed to get a great deal of media coverage for these events and I think that overall they were very successful.
It is the final countdown- the Czech EU Presidency is to end in one month time. What recollections of the six hectic months will you, personally, keep for future?
Although we have dedicated ourselves entirely to work during the Presidency and had little free time and energy left, I will retain positive memories. The past six months have been challenging for everybody. We spent a great deal of time with advance preparations for the job and I think that we can all be proud of ourselves, as we managed it very well. I am grateful for being a member of a team like this. We have done a really good job. My personal point of view is that the five months we have spent ‘managing Europe’ have been a great experience and I am sure I will miss the hectic days when anything could happen within the next minute.

CZ PRESS NEWS MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR - bulding on firm foundations www.eu2009.cz

Short news:

Conference on "Best Practice" – Protection of Children (Alert Systems)

The EU and Russian Federation Ministers of Justice and Home Affairs met in Kaliningrad

The topics of the meeting:

PRIORITIES OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR Priority No.10: A new multi-annual programme for Justice and Home Affairs

Half a year of Presidency through the eyes of Markéta Matlochová, spokesperson for the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Programme of Events 25.5.–8.6.2009

PRIORITIES OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR
Priority No.10: A new multi-annual programme for Justice and Home Affairs