Informal video conference of Justice Ministers
The Portuguese Minister of Justice, Francisca Van Dunem, will be chairing the second informal meeting of European Union (EU) Justice Ministers virtually tomorrow from the Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, under the framework of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The ministers will be discussing the best way to reinforce the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, based on the strategy presented by the Commission in December 2020 and the conclusions of the Council of the European Union on this issue. There will also be a discussion on the need for a new legislative instrument for the retention of electronic communications data, of particular importance for tackling crime and terrorism following the annulment by the EU Court of Justice of the directive on this matter.
The fight against illegal content will also be discussed in the context of the draft Digital Services Act, so that such content will be removed by the service provider whenever online sexual abuse of children, hate speech and other crimes are involved. The Ministers will ratify the Council’s conclusions on professionals in the justice field and will be informed of the current status of negotiations on a number of legislative proposals.
The Ministers of Justice will also be informed of the proposal from the Portuguese Presidency for further dialogue with countries in North Africa in the area of Justice and Home Affairs.
The Commission is expected to review the situation regarding the functioning of the European Prosecution Service and provide information on the work being done on the 2021 Rule of Law report.
The Commission is also expected to brief the Ministers on the funding opportunities offered by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) for promoting, in particular, the digitalisation of justice and the transfer of personal data to the United Kingdom.
The public session of this meeting can be watched here, from 9 am (Lisbon time).
The Portuguese Minister of Justice, Francisca Van Dunem, and the European Comissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, will take part in a press conference after the meeting.
Source: https://www.2021portugal.eu/en/news/fundamental-rights-electronic-communications-and-the-fight-against-illegal-content/