Justice and Interior matters

The Justice and interior matters (JAI), or more formally, the police and legal co-operation out of penal matter , is the most recent third and of the three pillars founded by the Traité on the European Union.

History

Already, the the Treaty of Rome of 1957 envisages such a co-operation. The treaty of Maastricht founding the European Union institutes the first bodies.

1997: the treaty of Amsterdam lays down objectives: the EU must “maintain and develop the Union as a space of freedom, of safety and justice”. She must become a space “in which freedom of movement is assured the people, in connection with appropriate measures as regards control of the external borders, of asylum, immigration as well as prevention of criminality and of fight against this phenomenon”.

1999: the European Council, joins together with Tampere, decides on a first work program.

2004: The European Council fixes a new program (program of $the Hague, which spreads out until in 2010).

Objectives

The mission of the third pillar is to make of the EU a “space of freedom, safety and justice”.

It is a question thus

of indicating penal questions which fall within the competence of the EU.
to make sure that the court orders made in one of the Member States are respected in the other states, both for the penal one the civilian (e.g.: divorces and guard of children).

Another motivation is the wish of a harmonization of the practices of the Member States.

Businesses JAI relate to many points:

Freedom of movement of the people
Political of the visas
Political relating to the borders external of the EU
Space Schengen
Immigration
Asylum
Legal cooperation out of civil and criminal matter
Coordination of the policies as regards Drug
Citizenship of the EU
Data protection
Basic rights
Racism and Xenophobia
police Co-operation and customs
Prevention of criminality
Fight against the organized criminality
Foreign relations
widening under the angle of justice and the interior matters

Operation

The Head office of Justice and the interior matters is a service of the European commission gathering 320 agents.

For this field, the European commission division the Right to take initiatives with the Member States: such an amount of the Commission which these states can propose of the legislative texts.

Four directions are distinguished:

general Affairs
Immigration, Asylum and borders
civil Justice, basic rights and citizenship.
Internal security and criminal justice.

Chronology of the European Union

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