Cooperation in the field of internal affairs and justice

Cooperation in the field of internal affairs and justice was initiated in 1975 by the creation of the TREVI intergovernmental group (“international terrorism, radicalism, extremism, violence” – TREVI group) consisting of the interior ministers of the EEC member states. The functions of this organization included the fight against terrorism, border control, the regulation of immigration flows, and the suppression of illegal transportation and drug trafficking.

Since the mid-1980s, EU member states have embarked on a constant coordination of internal affairs policies. In 1985, the Schengen Agreement was signed between France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on the gradual removal of control on the internal borders of the EU, and in 1986 the Ad Hoc Immigration Group was organized to study cases and coordinate political actions. shelters.
Decisions on justice and internal affairs are made on the basis of intergovernmental cooperation of the Union countries in the following areas:

• policy of granting political asylum;
• control over the external borders of the Union;
• immigration policy;
• customs cooperation;
• cooperation in the field of civil and criminal law;
• cooperation of national police services, the creation of a European police department.

The participation of EU supranational institutions in decisions on these issues is minimized. In order to pursue a coordinated policy in these areas, the Council of Ministers of the Interior and Justice of the EU countries was created, under the auspices of which joint police actions, in particular those aimed at combating the spread of drugs, were launched.

The strategy for the implementation of cooperation in the field of internal affairs and justice was enshrined in the Amsterdam Treaty and specified by decisions of the Vienna (1998), Tampers (1999) and Brussels (2001) EU summits, which committed themselves to combating the most dangerous crimes – organized crime, human trafficking and crimes against children; illegal arms and drug trafficking; corruption and fraud; and international terrorism.

To achieve the stated goals, it is planned by 2004 to grant the right to issue a European arrest warrant to the specially created Eurojust Office, consisting of prosecutors of national states, high-ranking judges and police officers, a kind of prototype of the European Prosecutor General.

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