Communication from the Commission - A strategy on the external dimension of the area of freedom, security and justice
Date: 2005-10-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union, area of freedom, security and justice, foreign policy, international security, political cooperation, third country

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 12.10.2005 
COM(2005) 491 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

A STRATEGY ON THE EXTERNAL DIMENSION OF THE AREA OF FREEDOM, 
SECURITY AND JUSTICE 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 3 

CHALLENGES............................................................................................................ 3 

OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................. 4 

ISSUES ........................................................................................................................ 6 

PRINCIPLES ............................................................................................................... 6 

POLICY INSTRUMENTS .......................................................................................... 7 

VII. 

GEOGRAPHIC EXAMPLES OF THE WAY AHEAD ............................................. 9 

VIII.  NEXT STEPS............................................................................................................. 10 

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I. 

INTRODUCTION 

Building  on  the  Hague  Programme  on  “Strengthening  Freedom,  Security  and  Justice  in  the 
European Union”1, the European Council of 16-17 June 2005 stated that: 

Given the growing importance of the external dimension of the area of freedom, security and 
justice,  [the  Action  Plan  implementing  the  Hague  Programme]  will  be  supplemented  at  the 
end of the year by the strategy to be adopted by the Council on a proposal from the SG/HR 
and the Commission. 

The projection of the values underpinning the area of freedom, security and justice is essential 
in  order  to  safeguard  the  internal  security  of  the  EU.  Menaces  such  as  terrorism,  organised 
crime and drug trafficking also originate outside the EU. It is thus crucial that the EU develop 
a strategy to engage with third countries worldwide. 

This  Communication  will  outline  the  main  external  challenges  facing  the  area  of  freedom, 
security and justice identify the objectives of the EU’s external actions in this field, identify 
the issues to be addressed worldwide, the instruments at the EU’s disposal and the principles 
for selecting appropriate actions, outline how the strategy could be applied by geographic area 
and make some recommendations to facilitate implementation of the strategy.  

II. 

CHALLENGES  

At Feira in June 2000, the European Council agreed a programme of priorities, objectives and 
measures  to  develop  the  external  dimension  of  justice,  freedom  and  security  policies.  Five 
years later, a wide range of external activities with a growing number of third countries and 
regions  have  already  been  developed  which  contribute  to  the  strengthening  of  the  area  of 
freedom, security and justice.  

Since  2000,  policies  within  the  EU’s  area  of  freedom,  security  and  justice  have  matured 
considerably  and  evolved to meet the concerns and needs of European citizens. As a result, 
the  acquis  has  developed  significantly  through  the  adoption  of  legislation  on  migration  and 
asylum, border management and visas, the fight against organised crime and terrorism, drugs, 
police and law enforcement cooperation, corruption, data protection, and judicial cooperation 
in  criminal  and  civil  matters.  This  acquis  provides  a  broad  basis  for  cooperating  with  third 
countries.  

The external dimension of the area of freedom, security and justice is developing to address 
the principal external challenges, namely:  

•  Terrorist  attacks,  such  as  those  on  11  September  2001,  11  March  2004  and  7  July  2005, 
have led to an increased international commitment to combat terrorism, as exemplified by 
the  EU’s  decision  on  13  July  2005  to  accelerate  implementation  of  the  Action  Plan  on 
Combating  Terrorism2.  The  EU  is  reaching  out  to  third  countries,  regional  and 
international organisations to develop and deepen cooperation to combat terrorism. 

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Adopted by the European Council of 4-5 November 2004. 
Council Decision of 13 July 2005. 

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•  The ever-growing sophistication in organised crime, including money laundering and other 
financial  crimes,  and  cross-border  trafficking  in  drugs,  persons  and  arms  can  only  be 
countered through improved law enforcement and judicial cooperation, both within the EU 
and externally, and through support for capacity-building in third countries. 

•  Illegal  immigration  is  set  to  continue,  confronting  the  EU  with  the  need  to  elaborate  a 
comprehensive approach. It must address not only issues such as admission and reception, 
but also the root causes of immigration and its impact on countries of origin and transit.  

•  The failure of institutions, such as the judiciary and law enforcement bodies, in weak states 
and  troublespots  throughout  the  world  creates  a  vacuum  which  can  be  exploited  by 
organised  crime.  The  EU  is  supporting  the  transformation  of  weak  or  non-existent  law 
enforcement institutions in certain third countries into properly-functioning bodies. 

•  The need for legal certainty and predictability in relation to cross-border transactions in an 
increasingly global economy. These challenges have the potential to facilitate the situation 
of businesses and citizens in Europe and significantly to improve the protection of children 
worldwide. 

III. 

OBJECTIVES 

The purpose of this Communication is to demonstrate how the external dimension of justice 
and  home  affairs  contributes  to  the  establishment  of  the  internal  area  of  freedom, 
security  and  justice  and  at  the  same  time  supports  the  political  objectives  of  the 
European  Union’s  external  relations,  including  sharing  and  promoting  the  values  of 
freedom,  security  and  justice  in  third  countries.  Although  the  instruments  covering  the 
external aspects of the EU’s policies on freedom, justice and security are in place, the EU is 
for  the  first  time  organising  them  around  defined  principles  and  guidelines  into  a  strategy. 
This strategy must form an integral part of the EU’s external relations policy but within it, the 
justice, freedom and security aspects should be reinforced. Only by following clearly defined 
principles and priorities, and by working systematically towards the objectives set out below, 
can the EU efficiently assist third countries in responding to growing challenges and thus to 
fulfil their expectations. 

Freedom, security and justice issues lie at the heart of maintaining international stability and 
security both outside and inside the European Union. The promotion of free movement within 
the  EU,  generally  more  open  borders  and  increased  global  integration  have  added  a  new 
dimension to international  cooperation. Efficient  border  management  is vital  to fight  threats 
such  as  terrorism  and  organised  crime,  while  also  contributing  to  good  relations  between 
neighbouring states. Independent and efficient judiciaries are indispensable to uphold the rule 
of law and to ensure the protection of human rights; co-operation between judiciaries is vital 
both  to  facilitate  international  business  transactions  and  to  ensure  that  criminal  suspects 
cannot remain beyond the reach of justice. Fully-functioning asylum systems are necessary to 
ensure  protection  for  refugees  no  matter  where  they  may  be  in  the  world.  Efficient  and 
effective  police  forces,  which  can  cooperate  with  their  counterparts  in  other  countries,  are 
essential  to  combat  all  forms  of  terrorism  and  organised  crime  and  to  ensure  security  for 
citizens  in  their  daily  lives.  To  achieve  these  objectives  requires  hard  work,  time  and 
concerted  efforts  both  by  the  Commission  and  the  Council.  It  is  important  that  the  EU 
develops initiatives and proposes solutions to the ever growing number of challenges in this 
area. 

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Fostering the rule of  law  externally through cooperation is essential  to  reinforce  the area of 
freedom,  security  and  justice  internally.  There  is  a  general  recognition  that  internal  and 
external  aspects  of  EU  security  are  intrinsically  linked.  Societies  based  on  common  values 
such  as  good  governance,  democracy,  the  rule  of  law  and  respect  for  human  rights  will  be 
more effective in preventing domestic threats to their own security as well as more able and 
willing  to  cooperate  against  common  international  threats.  Moreover,  these  principles  have 
also  been  identified  by  the  international  community  as  critical  factors  in  reaching  the 
Millennium  Development  Goals.  Development,  security  and  human  rights  reinforce  each 
other;  strengthening  the  rule  of  law  –  both  domestically  and  internationally  -  is  not  only  an 
end in itself but essential for sustainable development and must be pursued through external 
actions.  

Within its borders, the EU has developed a wide-ranging framework for regulating the area of 
freedom, security and justice. While structures naturally differ enormously between countries, 
the  area  of  freedom,  security  and  justice  can  nevertheless  act  as  an  inspiration  for  third 
countries.  External  policies  have  a  crucial  role  in  promoting  security  and  stability. 
Enlargement  means  the  transposition  of  the  acquis,  as  well  as  the  transformation  of 
institutions,  in  the  candidate  and  potential  candidate  countries.  The  strengthening  of 
institutions such as the judiciary and the police makes a decisive contribution to consolidating 
the  rule  of  law  and  respect  for  human  rights  in  the  candidate  countries.  By  the  same  token, 
these  aspects  underpin  cooperation  in  this  field  with  the  European  Neighbourhood  Policy 
partners.  

The EU can do more to strengthen capacities and cooperation throughout the world. Instant 
results  cannot  be  expected;  reforming  a  judicial  system  or  establishing  an  effective  asylum 
system takes years, not months. Yet the issues confronted by the EU, by its neighbours and 
indeed by all countries worldwide are similar. The EU’s experience and success in issues such 
as  border  management,  migration  management  and  fighting  organised  crime  represent  a 
useful point of reference for third countries which face similar challenges.  

The EU should continue to encourage regional cooperation. Cross-border challenges, such as 
migration,  border  management  and  organised  crime,  can  often  best  be  addressed  through 
concerted action at regional level. Drawing on its own experience and the type of issue facing 
the regions concerned, the EU should support regional dialogue and cooperation on freedom, 
security  and  justice  issues  in  regions  such  as  Eastern  Europe  and  the  Middle  East  or  with 
regional organisations such as the African Union. 

At  multilateral  level,  recent  years  have  seen  the  adoption  of  important  international  legal 
instruments creating new norms (e.g. UN Convention on Trans-national Organised Crime and 
its  Protocols,  UN  Convention  against  Corruption),  as  well  as  increasing  attention  paid  to 
international standard setting, such as the FATF’s Recommendations on Money Laundering. 
The EU stands ready to support multilateral approaches to strengthen policies in these areas, 
in order both to enhance its role in international bodies and to encourage the development of 
further international instruments. 

In  fact,  strengthening  cooperation  and  supporting  capacity  building  in  third  countries  is 
already  providing  results.  Close  cooperation  with  the  Turkish  authorities  has  led  to  record 
drug  seizures  through  controlled  deliveries  in  the  EU  in  recent  months.  The  EU  is  working 
with  Morocco  to  strengthen  border  management  and  is  introducing  twinnings  on  money 
laundering  and  trafficking  in  persons.  A  border  management  mission  will  start  work  in 
December  to  help  the  Ukrainian  and  Moldovan  authorities  stamp  out  smuggling  and 

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trafficking across their common border. Visa facilitation and readmission agreements will be 
signed shortly with Russia, which will cut unnecessary bureaucracy  for legitimate travellers 
while  also  speeding  up  the  expulsion  of  illegal  immigrants.  These  activities  are  already 
producing tangible results for individuals both inside and outside the EU; the adoption of this 
strategy will enable the EU to intensify its efforts in this field. 

IV. 

ISSUES  

A number  of  political  priorities  can  be  derived  from  the  Hague  Programme  and  its  Action 
Plan3,  which  provide  the  overall  basis  for  relations  with  third  countries,  while  thematic 
priorities  are  set  out  in  specialised  Strategies  and  Action  Plans  (e.g.  the  EU  Action  Plan 
against Terrorism4; the Strategic Concept on Organised Crime5).  

•  Human rights: promote human rights in third countries in line with international standards 
and ensure that human rights are placed at the heart of law enforcement policies; support 
the  development  and  training  of  independent  and  impartial  judiciaries  upholding  human 
rights and the rule of law.  

•  Strengthening  institutions  and  good  governance:  strengthen  the  law  enforcement 
institutions  and  their  ability  to  cooperate  internationally;  strengthen  the  fight  against 
corruption;  promote  transparency,  accountability  and  sound  management  of  government 
institutions.  

•  Migration,  asylum  and  border  management:  improve  third  countries’  capacity  for 
migration  management  and  refugee  protection  in  accordance  with  international  law; 
support their operational border management capacity; enhance document security; prevent 
illegal  migration;  encourage  synergies  between  migration  and  development;  provide 
refugees with better access to durable solutions; ensure the return of illegal migrants. 

•  Fight  against  terrorism:  provide  support  to  third  countries  for  institution  building  and 
implementation of international instruments; work with third countries to address terrorist 
recruitment  and  financing;  continue  to  support  the  key  role  of  the  UN;  build  on  the 
relationship with the US to enhance cooperation. 

•  Organised  crime,  including  trafficking  in  persons,  drugs  and  human  organs, 
counterfeiting, economic and financial crime and cybercrime: support the development 
of institutional capacity and develop operational cooperation. 

V. 

PRINCIPLES 

Principles must be set to guide policy towards third countries as follows: 

•  Geographic  prioritisation:  priorities  must  be  set,  within  the  enlargement,  development 
and external relations policies and reflecting the EU’s special relations with third countries 
or  regions.  To  this  end,  comprehensive  policies  encompassing  all  aspects  of  justice, 

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COM(2005) 184, 10.6.2005. 
Adopted by the European Council in June 2004. 
COM(2005) 232, 2.6.2005. 

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freedom  and  security  will  be  developed  with  priority  countries,  such  as  candidate  or 
neighbourhood  countries,  while  with  other  countries  cooperation  will  focus  on  specific 
issues.  

•  Differentiation: there can be no ‘one size fits all’ strategy. A tailored approach is required 

to respond to the particular situation of individual countries and regions.  

•  Flexibility:  programming  must  retain  sufficient  flexibility  so  that  in  times  of  crisis  or 

changing circumstances the EU can respond swiftly to new priorities. 

•  Cross-pillar coordination: external action concerning freedom, security and justice is at 
times  cross-pillar,  touching  not  only  on  fields  of  Community  competence,  but  also  the 
CFSP or on police and judicial cooperation, thus requiring close coordination between the 
Council  and  the  Commission  to  ensure  coherence  of  the  EU’s  external  activities. 
Community competences must be preserved in relation to negotiations with third countries. 

•  Partnership: in line with the principles underpinning EU enlargement, external relations 
and  development  policies,  cooperation  concerning  freedom,  security  and  justice  must  be 
developed in close partnership with third countries, respecting the principle of ownership.  

•  Relevance  of  external  action:  there  should  be  a  clear  link  between  internal  activities 
aimed at creating an area of freedom, security and justice and external actions to support 
this  process,  fully  in  line  with  policy  coherence  as  adopted  by  the  European  Council  in 
June 2005.  

•  Added  value:  a  regular  exchange  of  information  on  activities  in  third  countries  between 
Member States and the Commission is essential to avoid overlapping or duplication and to 
ensure complementarity between actions.  

•  Benchmarking: all actions must include evaluation mechanisms to assess progress made 
in third countries and the relevance of the action for the EU’s external relations objectives. 

VI. 

POLICY INSTRUMENTS 

The broad range of policy instruments at the EU’s disposal represents a significant strength 
enabling the EU to tailor its external cooperation to the situation of each country. Engaging 
with  third  countries  entails  drawing  on  the  following  instruments  in  a  coherent  and 
coordinated way. 

(1) 

 Bilateral agreements 

Association  or  Partnership  and  Cooperation  Agreements,  including  provisions  on  freedom, 
security  and  justice  subjects;  readmission  agreements;  visa  facilitation  agreements;  mutual 
legal assistance and extradition agreements. 

For  some  countries,  a  visa  facilitation  agreement  is  an  important  issue.  A  strategy  is  under 
preparation, in the context of readmission policy. 

(2) 

Enlargement and pre-accession processes 

The  enlargement  process  with  Croatia  and  Turkey,  and  the  Stabilisation  and  Association 
Process with the Western Balkans include justice, freedom and security priorities.  

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(3) 

European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plans 

Action Plans with substantial justice, freedom and security components have been concluded 
with  Ukraine,  Moldova,  Morocco,  Tunisia,  Israel,  Jordan  and  the  Palestinian  Authority  and 
are under preparation with Egypt, Lebanon, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. 

(4) 

 Regional cooperation 

Regional organisations such as the Baltic Sea Task-Force, ASEM and the Euro-Med process 
bring together actors on justice, freedom and security issues of common concern.  

(5) 

 Individual arrangements 

With  the  US,  justice,  freedom  and  security  issues  are  covered  under  the  New  Transatlantic 
Agenda but also in a special format at ministerial level in the Policy Dialogue on Border and 
Transport Security. These issues are discussed with Canada, Australia, Japan and China in the 
context of a horizontal dialogue. There are justice, freedom and security ministerial meetings 
with Russia (Permanent Partnership Council), Ukraine and the Western Balkans Forum. 

(6) 

 Operational cooperation 

Europol, Eurojust, the European Police College and the Borders Agency are or will develop 
agreements  and  working  arrangements  with  counterparts  in  third  countries.  Networks  of 
liaison officers drawn from the Member States are being established in some third countries. 

(7) 

 Institution building and twinning 

Developing institutions and implementation capacity in third countries are central to activities 
with  many  third  countries.  Twinnings  between  Member  State  institutions  and  counterpart 
institutions in third countries are a highly useful mechanism in capacity building, while expert 
missions can provide expertise on particular issues. 

(8) 

Development Policy 

Development  is  an  effective  long-term  response  to  concerns  in  the  justice,  freedom  and 
security  area.  The  Commission  proposal  for  a  new  EU  Development  Policy  identifies 
governance and human rights as complementary aims to the overriding objective of poverty 
reduction6. 

(9) 

 External aid programmes 

Projects  on  justice,  freedom  and  security  issues  are  financed  under  the  external  relations 
assistance  programmes  (e.g.  CARDS,  TACIS  and  MEDA).  Under  the  new  financial 
perspectives,  the  proposed  external  relations  instruments  include  appropriate  provisions  for 
these actions. The Commission has proposed a thematic programme for migration and asylum 
as  successor  to  the  current  AENEAS  programme,  which  provides  assistance  for  migration 
management7. 

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COM(2005) 311, 13.7.2005. 
COM(2005) 324, 3.8.2005. 

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(10) 

 International organisations 

The  EC  and  Member  States  are  key  players  in  international  organisations  (e.g.  UNHCR, 
UNODC, Council of Europe, FATF, UNIDROIT, UNCITRAL, Hague Conference on Private 
International Law), which provide a useful basis for promoting common values and priorities. 
The EU encourages third countries to ratify and implement international conventions, which 
become a cornerstone for developing international cooperation.  

(11) 

 Monitoring  

Evaluation  mechanisms  should  be  adapted  to  respond  to  evolving  situations.  Current 
examples  include  the  European  Partnerships  for  the  Western  Balkans,  the  Action  Plan  on 
Organised Crime with Russia, the EU-Ukraine Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Action Plan, 
the  monitoring  and  evaluation  mechanism  for  third  countries  in  the  fight  against  illegal 
immigration, sub-committees and expert missions.  

VII.  GEOGRAPHIC EXAMPLES OF THE WAY AHEAD  

The  main  tenets  of  a  strategy  covering  external  aspects  of  the  EU’s  policy  on  freedom, 
security and justice are largely in place, notably as regards neighbouring countries which are 
the  first  natural  partners  for  closer  cooperation.  Cooperation  on  these  issues  is  spreading 
swiftly to other third countries, including India and China, as well as to developing countries. 

With  the  US,  a  strong  security  partnership  is  being  developed,  based  on  common  values, 
which  has  focused  on  the  fight  against  terrorism  since  11  September  2001.  Much  of  the 
cooperation  in  this  area  has  broken  new  ground  such  as  the  mutual  legal  assistance  and 
extradition  agreements,  and  transatlantic  relations  concerning  justice,  freedom  and  security 
issues  have  blossomed  due  to  the  shared  interest  in  tackling  new  challenges.  Since  this 
dimension is relatively new, the EU increasingly needs to define its security interests, based 
on  reciprocity,  and  to  promote  vigorously  its  policy  objectives  such  as  extending  the  Visa 
Waiver Programme to all Member States. The need to work together on border security 
and  law  enforcement  opens  up  new  avenues  of  cooperation  for  the  EU  and  the  US, 
always with a view to closing the security gap. 

Cooperation with the Western Balkan countries is intensive with the aim of strengthening 
stability  in  the  region  in  the  light  of  the  countries’  European  perspective.  Within  the 
Stabilisation  and  Association  Process,  the  EU  is  supporting  the  Western  Balkans  countries, 
through  the  CARDS  programme,  to  develop  their  performance  in  the  four  priority  areas  of 
police and organised crime, integrated border management, judicial reform, and asylum and 
migration. Progress towards the conclusion of agreements on readmission and visa facilitation 
will signal mutual commitment to further cooperation. 

Cooperation  has  also  developed  in  response  to  specific  concerns  such  as  organised  crime, 
through,  for  instance,  the  development  of  regional  cooperation  between  prosecutors  or 
cooperation  to  combat  money  laundering.  Other  measures  support  the  development  of  key 
capacities  in  each  country  including  setting  up  financial  intelligence  units  and  specialised 
teams  of  prosecutors  and  judges  to  deal  with  organised  crime  cases.  Further  cooperation 
with  Europol,  Eurojust  as  well  as  the  development  of  the  Regional  Centre  for 
Combating  Transborder  Crime  (SECI),  and  the  liaison  officers’  network  will  help 

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improve the way the EU uses its instruments in the area of police and criminal justice 
cooperation to fight organised crime in the Western Balkans. 

As regards Russia, justice, freedom and security has become a central feature of the strategic 
partnership  as  reflected  in  the  wide-ranging  Common  Space  on  freedom,  security  and 
justice, which will now need to be implemented effectively in priority areas such as the rule 
of  law,  the  fight  against  terrorism  and  organised  crime,  including  money  laundering, 
corruption  and  trafficking  of  persons  and  drugs,  the  fight  against  child  pornography  on  the 
Internet,  data  protection,  document  security  and  border  demarcation  and  management. 
Besides a rich dialogue at many levels, the Europol/Russia agreement as well as the Action 
Plan on Organised Crime, contacts with Eurojust and the liaison officers’ network provide a 
practical  basis  for  closer  operational  links.  The  conclusion  of  agreements  on  readmission 
and visa facilitation signals a strong commitment to further cooperation and will at the 
same time help discussions on the long-term prospect of visa-free travel. 

For  Ukraine,  extending  stability  to  the  neighbours  of  the  extended  EU  and  supporting  the 
reform  process  lies  behind  the  increasingly  close  cooperation.  Through  the  European 
Neighbourhood Policy and the soon to be updated EU-Ukraine JHA Action Plan, the EU is 
promoting  capacity  building  such  as  a  fundamental  overhaul  of  the  judiciary,  and  the 
development of border management and an asylum system in line with European standards. 
To take an example of institutional reform, Commission support for developing the capacity 
of  the  Ukrainian  Financial  Intelligence  Unit  assisted  in  bringing  about  Ukraine’s  removal 
from the FATF money laundering “blacklist”. Negotiations for an agreement with Eurojust 
are  envisaged.  Readmission  negotiations  are  underway,  and  negotiations  on  visa 
facilitation  are  expected  to  be  launched  shortly.  Priorities  are  reviewed  annually  at 
ministerial Troika level, and implementation is measured in a Scoreboard. 

With the Mediterranean countries, strengthening good governance and the rule of law as 
well  as  improving  migration  management  and  security  are  the  main  goals.  The  ENP  has 
given a new impetus to cooperation in this region, already a feature of the Barcelona process. 
At regional level, the programme on migration, police and judicial cooperation represented a 
step  forward  by  supporting  institutional  capacity  building  and  by  promoting  cooperation 
among  officials,  demonstrating  the  value  of  encouraging  regional  cooperation. The  start  of 
the new justice, freedom and security regional programme, as well as the reinforcement 
of  the  high  level  dialogue  on  terrorism,  will  accompany  the  launching  at  the  next 
Barcelona  Summit  of  an  ambitious  work  programme  to  create  an  area  of  mutual 
cooperation on justice, security, migration and social integration 

At  the  bilateral  level,  the  MEDA  programme  supports  projects  on  migration,  judiciary  and 
law enforcement cooperation in several countries, including twinnings in Morocco on money 
laundering and in Jordan on the judiciary. The entry into force of new agreements creates a 
climate of cooperation, including subjects such as the fight against terrorism, organised crime 
and drugs as well as child protection. Migration and border management are at the top of 
the  agenda,  and  partnerships  should  be  strengthened  in  the  region  with  countries  of 
origin and transit. Further progress is necessary on readmission agreements, and efforts 
to develop the dialogue with Libya on migration should be pursued. 

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VIII.  NEXT STEPS 

The  purpose  of  the  strategy  on  the  external  dimension  of  the  area  of  freedom,  security  and 
justice is two-fold: firstly, to contribute to the successful establishment of the internal area of 
freedom,  security  and  justice  by  creating  a  secure  external  environment,  and  secondly  to 
advance  the  EU’s  external  relations  objectives  by  promoting  the  rule  of  law,  democratic 
values and sound institutions. 

Areas for cooperation with third countries have been clearly set out in the Hague Programme 
and its Action  Plan.  The EU  has  a broad range of implementing instruments at its disposal, 
which will be applied according to the particular needs of the partner country concerned.  

Promoting the rule of law outside the EU is essential to underpin domestic and international 
security,  stability  and  development.  The  external  dimension  of  the  area  of  justice,  freedom 
and  security  cannot  be  seen  as  an  independent  policy  area  but  must  be  part  of  the  EU’s 
external policy activities.  

Several steps should be taken to facilitate implementation of the strategy: 

Setting priorities and monitoring implementation 

•  The Commission should set priorities and define appropriate courses of action within the 

scope of its responsibilities. 

•  To facilitate the monitoring of practical results against the objectives and priorities set, the 
review  and  continuously  monitor 

Commission  should  produce  a  consolidated 
implementation. 

•  As the external dimension of the area of freedom, security and justice is growing rapidly 
and assuming greater significance in relations with third countries, the Council should, on 
a regular basis, review progress and priorities. 

Effectiveness and coherence 

•  Coordination between geographic Council working groups and groups dealing with justice, 
freedom  and  security  matters  could  be  improved.  Coreper  also  has  an  important 
coordinating role in this area. 

•  Coherence  of  the  EU’s  external  actions:  Improved  coordination  is  required  to  ensure 
coherence  and  effectiveness  at  EU  level  between  different  policies  and  instruments, 
bearing in mind the Commission’s competence. At the same time, Member States must be 
closely involved. 

•  Rapid reaction: In addition to long-term support for institution building, the EU needs to 
develop further its capacity to react quickly to sudden needs or emerging threats. There are 
a  growing  number  of  situations  where  the  EU  should  promote  its  ability  to  deliver  swift 
assistance.  

•  International  organisations:  the  Commission  must  play  its  full  role  in  international 
organisations,  in  coordination  with  the  Member  States,  to  stimulate  the  development  of 

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new tools. Appropriate steps should be taken to ensure greater visibility for the action of 
the EU in international bodies.  

•  Regional  cooperation:  the  Commission  must  strengthen  its  efforts  to  support  regional 
cooperation  on  justice,  freedom  and  security  issues,  through  support  for  existing  bodies 
such  as  the  African  Union,  and  encouraging  new  initiatives  in  areas  where  regional 
cooperation is weak, such as the Middle East or Eastern Europe. 

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