eunbil · GT0N1597 · 2006-07-14 00:00:00 — THE EUROPEAN UNION , 4 2006 (05.07) fr) 11223/06 JUSTCIV 161 COVER NOTE from: Secretary-General of Commission, signed by , Director date of receipt: 4 2006 to: , Secretary-General/High Representative Subject: Evaluation of EU Policies on Freedom, Security and will find attached Commission document . : COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , 28.6.2006 COM(2006) 332 final COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Evaluation of EU Policies on Freedom, Security and {SEC(2006) 815} COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Evaluation of EU Policies on Freedom, Security and The Hague Programme (2004) states that "evaluation of the implementation as well as of the effects of all measures is, in Council"s opinion, essential to the effectiveness of Union action". The Action Plan implementing The Hague Programme (2005) , which sets out a policy framework for Union activities on freedom, security and over the next five years, provides for the adoption, in 2006, of a general from the Commission on how to develop an evaluation mechanism at EU level in this area . The Heads of State and Government had identified evaluation of implementation as a key tool to ensure that the significant results achieved by the Union and its Member States on the development of an Area of Freedom, Security and are properly implemented and constantly reviewed, where appropriate, in order to respond to the real expectations of European citizens. By underlining the importance of evaluation, The Hague Programme aimed at (1) further improving the way policies, programmes and instruments are set up, by identifying problems and obstacles encountered when implementing them, (2) laying down more systematic rules on the financial accountability and scrutiny of policies, (3) favouring learning and exchanges of good practice and (4) participating in developing an evaluation culture across the Union. In view of (1) the mandate given to the Commission by The Hague Programme and its Action Plan, (2) the fragmentation of existing monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and (3) the need to transmit extensive information to all stakeholders on the implementation and results of policies, the Commission considers that the time has come to work towards setting up a coherent and comprehensive mechanism for evaluation of EU policies on freedom, security and , in a spirit of partnership with Member States and EU institutions. Such a mechanism will include monitoring implementation (as detailed in the Communication on "Strengthening Freedom, Security and in Union: report on the implementation of The Hague Programme for the year 2005", hereafter the "Scoreboard plus") and evaluating the results of the policies. The concept of evaluation A distinction must be drawn between the principles of monitoring implementation and of evaluation: Monitoring implementation consists of reviewing progress on carrying out policies. on Evaluation presented by the Commission in 2000 defines evaluation as "judgement of interventions (public actions) according to their results, impacts and the needs they aim to satisfy". The main role of evaluation is to provide policy-makers with input about the impact and effectiveness of activities planned and carried out. The Commission interprets the mechanism referred to in the Action Plan as a means of monitoring implementation and evaluating the concrete results of policies on freedom, security and . In this context, evaluation goes beyond and builds up on monitoring implementation of policies by studying the effects of implementation, as outlined below. This is in line with The Hague Programme since the concept of "evaluation of the implementation as well as of the effects of all measures" encompasses both monitoring implementation itself and evaluating the results of the measures taken. This is the rationale for the Commission to propose a coherent and comprehensive package built around two pillars: the "Scoreboard plus" for monitoring implementation and the evaluation mechanism proposed in this Communication. The mechanism put forward in this Communication is based on this comprehensive definition which, in the Commissions view, should allow a full understanding of the quantity and quality of results achieved on freedom, security and . Such a mechanism would operate within the framework of the principles established in The Hague Programme. Ultimately this should improve policy-making, by promoting systematic feedback of evaluation results into the decision-making process. Box 1: Evaluation across the decision-making process Evaluating EU policies on freedom, security and - Challenges to be addressed Complex and ambitious policy goals and arrangements Freedom, security and is one of the EUs most diverse policy areas. The objectives to be achieved encompass some of the most topical issues: free movement of persons, terrorism and organised crime, and judicial cooperation, asylum and migration policy, all of this while respecting fundamental rights and promoting the rights of Union citizens. Often national sovereignty considerations necessitate compromises at EU level or make implementation difficult. Therefore, any new evaluation mechanism will have to take account of this political context. The complex and ambitious policy goals sought are further complicated by a sometimes confusing legal framework, a mix of decision-making and compliance procedures. To accommodate this complexity, the proposed evaluation mechanism needs to be progressive and to include possibilities for further development and consolidation. As a result of the specific role of the Commission and the decision-making process in the freedom, security and field, the various policies often require different time frames before they can be developed and become fully operational. A case-by-case approach is therefore necessary to identify the right level of analysis for each individual policy. While immediate and intermediate results will be taken into consideration for all policies, analysing the practical impact could be more difficult for some of them (e.g. drugs or migration policies). The proposed evaluation mechanism should allow sufficient flexibility for differentiated in-depth evaluation of specific policies, taking due account of their level of development and consolidation. Focusing on immediate and intermediate results therefore seems appropriate, at least in the first stage. Identification of the overall impact of policies must be the ultimate objective of the evaluation mechanism in the longer term. Involving institutions and stakeholders Another unique aspect of freedom, security and is the impact of policy on stakeholders. evaluation mechanism in this field must take into consideration stakeholders expectations and priorities and, in particular, the need for confidentiality in some policy areas, such as terrorism and organised crime. In a spirit of partnership, the Commission will consult and debate with Member States and EU institutions during and after preparation of the evaluation report. To that end, Member States and EU institutions will be invited to designate contact points to facilitate dialogue with the Commission. The evaluation report will be public and addressed to the Member States and EU institutions. and the Member States together with the Commission will be the main players in the proposed evaluation mechanism. Parliament will be closely associated, in compliance with the institutional prerogatives and obligations. National Parliaments will also be involved in evaluation of the regular reports. In the areas covered by the , and Economic and will be involved in preparation and implementation of the evaluation mechanism. Evaluation reports will be routinely transmitted to the Committees after adoption. Agencies such as for Fundamental Rights, (), Europol, Eurojust or the for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders will play an important role in the mechanism. First, they will feed the evaluation exercise with information and analysis when available. Second, the Commission will consult them on the evaluation reports. The contribution of civil society will be very valuable in this context. The Commission will ensure that the views of the civil society will be taken into account and will establish appropriate mechanisms to ensure its participation in the evaluation of all policies in the area of freedom, security and . The proposed evaluation mechanism should include transparent consultation mechanisms, which could also be used to and cross-check relevant information. Availability of statistics and of the necessary analytical capacity is a key component in the development of an evaluation system. While statistics are well-developed for some activities (e.g. drugs policy), further work needs to be done in other areas, such as crime and criminal . Statistics on evolution of the needs addressed by policies on freedom, security and will be required as baseline data to assess whether existing needs are attenuated or aggravated by a policy over time and, ultimately, to be able to draw conclusions about the impact of policies. Improvements should be made in three areas: quality, availability and analysis. Work by agencies, including (), Eurojust, Europol and the future , will play a special role in this context. Research projects and networks will also contribute to this objective. Consequently, in parallel with setting up the proposed evaluation system, improvements will have to be made to the quality, availability and analysis of statistics on freedom, security and . Evaluating EU policies on freedom, security and - Proposal for a strategic evaluation mechanism Description of the evaluation mechanism The proposed strategic evaluation mechanism for freedom, security and builds upon the consolidated results achieved in other areas of EU policy. Such a mechanism would build on current practices, as described in 2, and, in the specific case of funding programmes, use information derived from existing evaluation requirements. Also, in other areas where information is already available particular attention will be paid to making use of existing data and avoiding duplication of work. A three-step progressive mechanism is proposed: (1) First, it provides for setting up a system for information gathering and sharing. (2) Second, it includes a reporting mechanism which consolidates, uses and analyses this information. (3) Third, it is completed by targeted in-depth strategic evaluations. Box 2: The three steps of the mechanism The mechanism will be comprehensive and will encompass all policies in the area of freedom, security and . Evaluation reports will be transmitted to the Council and European Parliament and also to Economic and and as appropriate to wider audiences, including via ad-hoc public events. By enhancing reporting and dissemination of evaluation results, the mechanism ultimately seeks to actual use of the results at the decision-making level. The mechanism is consistent with current Commission guidance on evaluation and will operate in conformity with its general principles. Information gathering and sharing system The information gathering and sharing system will be based on "factsheets" (one for each policy area) which will be filled in by the Member States competent authorities. In areas for which information is already available in a similar format, the Commission will fill in the factsheets in advance as far as possible. In parallel, the factsheets will be put out to consultation with relevant stakeholders and civil society. Consultations will be specific to each policy and will build upon existing networks and consultation mechanisms, with due regard to confidentiality requirements in certain areas. The factsheets will indicate an overall policy objective for each area and list the main instruments (legislative, non-legislative and financial) contributing to attaining that objective. The mechanism should provide a clear overview of the achievements. The factsheets will also provide a set of indicators for each policy. These indicators will be clearly linked to the overall objective of the policy area. The factsheets will be an integral part of the consultation process which will follow publication of this document and will be finalised in partnership with Member States. Examples of the proposed factsheets are given in 1 to this Communication. The Commission intends to invite each to designate contact points at national level. The contact points will play an important role in coordination of the response at national level and work in consultation with Commission departments. As regards EU legislation, the indicators and the rating system in the factsheets will focus on tangible results of application of the legislation in practice not on the level of transposition into national law or the impact of EU law on the national legal systems. The latter are the main objectives of the "Scoreboard plus", which assesses transposition and implementation rather than judging the degree of achievement of the objectives. Regarding EU funding programmes, the factsheets will build on existing implementation and evaluation reports produced to meet the obligations set out in the Financial Regulation and the relevant legal basis. The information required by the factsheets on funding programmes is expected to be readily available and any additional contributions required from Member States should therefore be minimal. Following receipt of the factsheets and consultation with stakeholders, the Commission will validate the information received and elaborate an "evaluation report" consolidating and analysing the information provided. This evaluation report will also include political recommendations regarding the different policy areas addressed. The aim of this exercise is to evaluate the policies carried out at EU level in the area of freedom, security and and to identify areas suitable for an in-depth strategic evaluation. Following the evaluation report and further consultation, in-depth strategic policy evaluations can be conducted in selected areas. These evaluations will aim at producing useful and timely information as inputs for political decisions in each policy area, as appropriate. Strategic evaluations should add value to the current practices described in 2, notably by: (a) focusing on policies (or coherent sub-sets), rather than individual instruments (for instance, evaluation of the common immigration policy); (b) analysing the coherence of different instruments within a given policy (e.g. how financial programmes support and facilitate implementation of the EU legislation in a given field); (c) investigating how a certain policy contributes to the overall objective of establishing an Area of Freedom, Security and ; (d) determining the overall rate of achievement of that general objective; and (e) assessing achievement of an overarching objective in the field of freedom, security and (for instance, safeguarding of fundamental rights). A set frequency makes it possible to monitor progress at regular intervals and to draw comparisons. As regards the timetable, the proposal is to conduct this evaluation exercise ("factsheets" plus "evaluation report") twice every five years. The Commission will draw on available information as far as possible. The proposal takes into account the fact that this mechanism: (a) should be conducted on a regular basis, (b) should not be too burdensome, (c) does not need to be conducted every year since it focuses on slow-moving outputs and results and on medium-term data, (d) should be coordinated with the existing strategic and multi-annual plans. In particular, the proposed timetable would also enable the Council and the Commission to use the results of the evaluation reports as input for assessing the need to prepare a further Strategic Programme in 2009 after The Hague Programme expires. Publishing the evaluation report every two or three years will make it possible to synchronise the mechanism with the five-year cycle. This will more thorough and strategic use of evaluation results in decision-making. 2006-2007 will be a transition period (see table below). In order to coordinate with the "Scoreboard plus", the schedule is to send the factsheets to Member States at the end of 2006 and publish the evaluation report, together with the second "Scoreboard plus", in mid-2007. Timetable "Scoreboard plus" (SB) Review mechanism Action Plan 2005 Adoption of The Hague Action Plan 2006 SB+ 1 Intermediate assessment of implementation (end of 2006) 2007 SB+ 2 Evaluation report 1 First policy review 2008 SB+ 3 2009 SB+ 4 Evaluation report 2 2010 SB+ 5 End of The Hague programme 2011 SB+ 6 2012 SB+ 7 Evaluation report 3 2013 SB+ 8 2014 SB+ 9 Evaluation report 4 (Transition period in grey) An assessment of the additional administrative costs to Member States is included in the annexed impact assessment. Member States are encouraged to work, with the support of the Commission, towards data comparability and accuracy. Recent experience with the evaluation of a number of legislative instruments has shown that, at times, basic data concerning policies are neither harmonised nor accurate. Ad hoc evaluations of policies on freedom, security and by the Council or the Commission will be an additional source of information. is intended to mark the start of a medium-term process. The proposed mechanism and the factsheets are presented so that comments on and improvements to them can be made in the follow-up to this Communication. To this end, a wide-ranging consultation process will be launched, including the organisation of a hearing in the autumn. An assessment of the mechanism will be conducted after five years to decide on possible adjustments and improvements to the system. The outputs to be considered will be the deliverables identified in box 2. The assessment will be against the objectives stated in paragraph 3. The Commission considers it necessary to set up a coherent and comprehensive mechanism for evaluation of EU policies on freedom, security and , bearing in mind the current situation and the mandate given by The Hague Programme. Such a mechanism will have to be progressive and take into account the evolving institutional and legal framework, with a view to ensuring further enhancement and effectiveness of freedom, security and policies. This mechanism will provide a means of bringing together individual evaluation results in a coherent framework and thereby informing political decision-making at the appropriate level. In this respect, the proposed mechanism will also provide policy-makers with relevant information in time for considering the appropriate follow-up to The Hague Programme when it expires in 2009. The proposed mechanism will be implemented by the Commission and the Council in full compliance with their institutional prerogatives and in close association with Parliament. Concerted action and full commitment by EU institutions and Member States are necessary for effective and implementation of the evaluation mechanism, with national authorities and administrations playing a key role in this respect. Finally, such an evaluation mechanism will aim at making the action taken by the Union more effective and will contribute to the strategic objectives of better regulation and transparency of EU activities. Factsheet of JLS policies POLICY AREA: EXTERNAL BORDERS, VISA POLICY AND FREE MOVEMENT OF PERSONS Factors influencing evaluation mechanism: well established policy area, 1st pillar activities, there is a strong consensus amongst stakeholders for EU level action; there is a mix of instruments (legislative activities, co-operation activities, programme funding, functioning , IT systems); possible to construct evaluation indicators, but might be hard to measure outcomes and results and causal links in practice. Methods to evaluate controls at borders are improving, including available administrative information and statistics. Some constraints on fully independent evaluation. There are strong interlinkages between the instruments within the ABB activity and strong potential for thematic evaluation examining instruments in parallel. Policy sub-area 1: External borders Objectives: Develop an integrated external border management system Ensure uniform high standards of border checks and border surveillance at EU external borders Reduce number of illegal cross border movements of people Further burden sharing in management of external borders Policy sub-area level indicators: The numbers of illegal migrants apprehended that are known to have crossed the EU external border illegally as a proportion of all third country national border crossings into EU (Source: Commission - statistics on asylum and migration) The difference between the numbers of illegal migrants apprehended that are known to have crossed the EU external border illegally as a proportion of all third country national border crossings into EU through the most permeable and least permeable border. Note that this indicator would require to define the most and least permeable EU border. The numbers of illegal migrants apprehended that are known to have crossed the EU external border illegally (Source: Commission - statistics on asylum and migration) The proportion of all resource commitments to external border management originating in countries without EU external borders (Source: MS) instruments Objectives Implementation at national level Indicators/evaluation questions Specific issues /comments Immediate results () II Sharing of information among MS in order to refuse entry on the basis of uniform practices Consistent input and further use of information among and a Availability of SIS II information for competent national authorities Number of records per category (Source: MS and Commission) Success in using SIS information. Number of correctly identified persons who should be refused entry and wanted goods discovered (Source: MS) Reduced permeability of the external border. Increased confidence to promote free movement policies. Clear intervention logic. Evaluation methods - analysis of trends and process changes. Commission responsible for evaluation co-ordination and analysis, MS for information analysis. Most of the analysis will depend upon information from MS. for the Management of Operational Co-operation at the External Borders (FRONTEX) Improvement of operational cooperation between authorities Increased competences of border guards Co-operation with Agency and responses to good practice, training and other advice. Number of joint operations and pilot projects carried out Development of risk analysis Number of risk analyses carried out (Source: Agency) Number of border guards trained Number of training courses and seminars offered (Source: Agency) Improvement of border control (Source: Agency) Use of risk analyses by national services (Source: MS) Better trained border guards Use of newly acquired skills (Source: MS) Improved resource deployment at external borders (due to better intelligence) Reduced permeability of external borders (due to better trained staff) Difficult to assess causality of intervention. Evaluation methods - case studies, follow up surveys. EU leading the evaluation. (evaluations have tended to be process rather than impact oriented) Action Programme for administrative cooperation in the fields of external borders, visas, asylum and immigration () To promote cooperation between national administrations responsible for implementing Community rules and to ensure that proper account is taken of the Community dimension in their actions To promote the uniform application of Community law