Federal Councillor Jans relies on cooperation with other EU states
Published: Thursday, Jan 25th 2024, 19:50
Updated At: Thursday, Jan 25th 2024, 19:51
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Federal Councillor Beat Jans attended the meeting of EU interior ministers for the first time on Thursday. No concrete decisions were made. Jans' aim was therefore to get to know as many of his counterparts as possible and to exchange ideas with them, as he said before the meeting in Brussels.
After all, the issues of international security and migration are very complex. They can only be solved together, Jans continued. This would work best "if we know each other and know what each other's needs and concerns are".
Concrete bilateral meetings were not planned. However, he said that he would try to speak to as many of his colleagues as possible. There is already an invitation from the French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin to Paris. However, a specific date has not yet been set.
An important topic at the ministerial meeting was international crime - especially cocaine trafficking, which has risen sharply in the EU and Switzerland. Drug traffickers from Latin America and the Middle East in particular are currently flooding Europe with cocaine.
Port alliance against drug trafficking
Justice Minister Jans emphasized the importance of cooperation. The fight against drug trafficking is "an extremely difficult task that can only be solved together". The head of the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) went on to say that this was not just about drug trafficking itself, but also about the associated crime.
In order to better combat drug trafficking, a newly founded European Port Alliance was launched on Wednesday in Antwerp, Belgium. The alliance consists of almost 20 ports. In addition to national investigative authorities, Europol and the border protection agency Frontex are also supporting the alliance. According to EU Justice Commissioner Ylva Johansson, around 70 percent of seized drugs are smuggled into the EU by sea.
Federal Councillor Jans, who was in Antwerp with his ministerial colleagues for this reason, welcomed this port alliance to Swiss journalists.
Jans lobt Migrationspakt
The topic of migration was also on the EU ministers' agenda. A comprehensive migration pact has been the subject of debate within the EU for years. This involves, for example, a solidarity mechanism and increased protection of the EU's external borders. Last December, an agreement was finally reached between the EU member states and the EU Parliament.
Switzerland will have to adopt parts of the pact due to its agreements with the EU on Schengen and Dublin. According to Jans, however, it is "still completely unclear" exactly what this will look like, as the EU regulations have not yet been adopted.
"But in principle we see this pact as positive and believe that it will also be very helpful for Switzerland in getting to grips with the problem of migration," said the head of the FDJP.
The ministers will also discuss Ukraine and the special protection status of Ukrainian refugees. When asked about this, Jans said that they would coordinate with the EU. This is because Switzerland has its own special status for Ukrainian refugees, "Status S", which is separate from the EU.
Criticism of German border controls
As part of his bilateral talks, Jans reiterated the Federal Council's disapproval of Germany's unilateral border controls to German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. As the FDJP announced in the evening, Germany repeatedly emphasized that cooperation is working well.
There is also a joint action plan to curb secondary migration, he added. "There is no need for controls at the border with Switzerland," said Jans, according to his department
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