Fri. Sep 20th, 2024

Main results of the Justice and Home Affairs Council

Oct 8, 2021
Justice 

Pre-trial detention

Ministers held a debate on pre-trial detention, an issue which has an impact on individual freedoms and is also important for mutual trust and mutual recognition.

Detention is at the heart of the criminal justice system, but differences in detention conditions can have an impact on mutual trust and therefore could pose an obstacle to cooperation in criminal matters across the EU. Today’s fruitful discussion reflected our joint commitment to continue improving detention conditions and will serve as a guidance for further work by the Commission in this area.

Marjan Dikaučič, Minister for Justice of Slovenia

Ministers focused in particular on which minimum standards for material detention conditions and procedural rights in pre-trial detention should be prioritised in order to enhance mutual trust between member states. They also discussed what further actions at EU level could help improve detention conditions or enhance the use of alternative measures to detention.

  • Non-paper from the Commission services on detention conditions and procedural rights in pre-trial detention

European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO)

The Commission and the presidency informed ministers about the latest developments regarding the setting up of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO). The European Chief Prosecutor also attended the discussion on this point.

The EPPO started its operations on 1 June and is already carrying out a number of investigations in relation to cases which fall under its mandate.

Work also continues in a number of areas including the adaptation of national justice systems to the EPPO regulation, the appointment of the European Delegated Prosecutors and staff recruitment. Within the Council, work is ongoing on the relations of the EPPO with third countries and international organisations.

Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP)

Before the meeting, ministers attended a working lunch to discuss the issue of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) and the need to protect journalists from abusive litigation.

As announced under the European democracy action plan published in December 2020, the Commission is preparing an initiative to protect journalists and rights defenders against this type of abusive litigation. To contribute to the preparation of this initiative, ministers focused on national experience and good practices in fighting SLAPP, as well as on the cross border dimension of this phenomenon.

 

Home affairs

Digital dimension of investigating child sexual abuse

Ministers held a debate on the digital dimension of investigating child sexual abuse. They focused in particular on how access to data for competent authorities can be guaranteed in order to effectively counter these crimes. They also discussed the role of proactive measures by social media platforms, hosting services and electronic communications providers in addressing this phenomenon.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to children becoming more active and connected online, which has also resulted in an increase in the number of criminal activities relating to child sexual abuse on both the web and dark web. Today ministers reiterated their commitment to ensure that our law enforcement authorities have all the necessary tools to continue fighting these heinous crimes online as they do offline.

Aleš Hojs, Minister for the Interior of Slovenia

External dimension of migration

The Commission and the presidency informed ministers about progress on the development of action plans for strengthening comprehensive migration partnerships with priority countries of origin and transit. Discussions have already taken place at technical level within the Council on action plans regarding Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tunisia, Niger, Nigeria and Iraq.

Ministers also exchanged views on the situation on various migration routes. The EU will continue to monitor closely the situation on all routes.

Virtually all the countries on the external EU borders are currently experiencing pressure. While negotiations on the legislative proposals continue, we can already do more today to improve cooperation with third countries, including regarding returns of migrants who cross borders illegally and are not entitled to international protection.

Aleš Hojs, Minister for the Interior of Slovenia

Screening and detention at the border

Home affairs ministers discussed the issue of screening and detention of migrants at the border. They agreed that increased security and health challenges require swift common action. Harmonised rules on security and health checks at the external borders are essential to achieve the objective of ensuring safety within the Schengen area. However, some member states also highlighted the need to maintain a certain level of flexibility to adapt to the different nature of external borders and national circumstances.

Several ministers also highlighted the need to ensure coherence with the overall asylum reform and to work on all proposals in parallel. The Presidency concluded that the necessary solutions should be sought in the framework of the screening regulation proposal and will continue steering work to find solutions at technical level.

Situation in Afghanistan

Ministers took note of the information provided by the Commission, the EEAS and the Counter-Terrorism Coordinator on the situation in Afghanistan with regard to international protection, migration and security. Work is currently ongoing to implement the different strands outlined in the statement adopted by home affairs ministers at their extraordinary meeting on 31 August.

On the migration and forced displacement aspect, an updated action plan on Afghanistan was presented by the Commission and the EEAS and was reviewed by the Council at technical level on 17 September. The Commission also informed about the High-level Resettlement Forum on Afghanistan held on 7 October 2021. On the security aspect, a counter-terrorism action plan has been developed by the EU counter-terrorism coordinator in close consultation with EU member states, institutions and agencies.

Meeting information

  • Meeting n°3816
  • Luxembourg
  • 7 October 2021
  • 14:00
  • 8 October 2021
  • 09:30

Preparatory documents

Outcome documents

Press releases

Link: Main results of the Justice and Home Affairs Council

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