ABSTRACT
TACIS: see Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States
The TAMPERE SUMMIT of the European Council in November 1999 represents a highly significant event in the development of European Union (EU) policy governing justice and home affairs (JHA). It was the first time that an area of loose intergovernmental co-operation had been propelled to the top of the political agenda. The origins of this agenda date back to the spring of 1999 and a joint letter from the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, and the Finnish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen, which called for European action in three broad areas. These all related to the third pillar activities initiated by the Treaty on European Union, and covered asylum and immigration policy, the creation of a European area of justice and combating transnational crime. These became the main agenda items of the Tampere Summit, where the heads of state and government reached agreement on the need for a ‘common asylum system’. Tampere highlighted the expanding nature and position of the European Council as an agenda-setter and a driving force for EU integration. It led directly to a further extension of the EU’s scope vis-à-vis policymaking in the field of JHA and resulted in several new initiatives and new bodies being set up in 2000, such as Eurojust, a prosecution agency, and a European Police College. With regard to the European Commission, Tampere was the first occasion for the new post-Jacques Santer Commission to present itself as a credible and potent force to the leaders of the Member States. However, the scandal surrounding the Santer regime and the growing determination of the European Council to control the policy agenda had already placed the Commission on the defensive. The changing relationships between the EU institutions was epitomized by the European Council’s rejection of the Commission’s report on the restructuring of the EU institutions.
