At the meeting of ministers of home affairs, the presidency will aim to reach a general approach (common position of member states) on a legislative proposal to combat child sexual abuse. The proposed EU law will make it mandatory for internet companies to alert the authorities about online child sexual abuse on their platforms. A planned EU centre would support authorities acting on reports of child sexual abuse and collect and share expertise and best practices in prevention and victim support.
Prevention of online child sexual abuse (background information)
Ministers will take stock of the overall state of the Schengen area. The Commission will present the Schengen Barometer, a biannual report that looks at developments, emerging threats and developments for the Schengen area. Ministers will exchange views on the implementation of the priorities of the annual Schengen Council cycle. The discussion will focus on the priority related to increasing the resilience of our external borders.
The presidency will also give a state of play of the full application of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania. On 30 December 2023, the Council decided to lift air and maritime border controls with Bulgaria and Romania. Setting the date of the lifting of checks at internal land borders with Bulgaria and Romania requires a further Council decision.
The Schengen area explained (background information)
The EU is drawing closer to the launch of the Entry/Exit System (EES) – an automated IT system for registering non-EU nationals who are travelling for a short stay. Under the new system, border officers will scan the fingerprints or take a photo of those crossing the border for the first time. This information will be recorded in a digital file. The EES is part of a wider range of crime-fighting and border security IT systems that the EU is on course to deploy in the next years. The ETIAS travel authorisation system – a system that will check security, migration and health risks of non-EU nationals who do not need a visa to enter the Schengen area – is scheduled to become operational in the first half of 2025. Ministers will be briefed on the state of play.
IT systems to fight crime and secure EU borders (background information)
The returns of irregular migrants and rejected asylum seekers will be the subject of the ministerial working lunch. According to Eurostat, in 2023 484,160 non-EU citizens were ordered to leave the EU, 91,465 (18.9%) of which effectively returned.
EU migration and asylum policy (background information)
EU asylum rules (background information)
Ministers will exchange views on the consequences of external conflicts, including the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East, and their implications for the EU.
The presidency will also inform about its priorities in the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime and about the latest developments on how these priorities are addressed.
EU drugs policy (background information)
The EU’s fight against organised crime (background information)
We and use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your experience on our website. We may store and/or access information on a device and process personal data, such as your IP address and browsing data, for personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development. Additionally, we may utilize precise geolocation data and identification through device scanning.
Please note that your consent will be valid across all our subdomains. You can change or withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the “Consent Preferences” button at the bottom of your screen. We respect your choices and are committed to providing you with a transparent and secure browsing experience.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
__stripe_mid | This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server. | |
__stripe_sid | This cookie is set by Stripe payment gateway. This cookie is used to enable payment on the website without storing any patment information on a server. | |
_abck | This cookie is used to detect and defend when a client attempt to replay a cookie.This cookie manages the interaction with online bots and takes the appropriate actions. | |
_wpfuuid | This cookie is used by the WPForms WordPress plugin. The cookie is used to allows the paid version of the plugin to connect entries by the same user and is used for some additional features like the Form Abandonment addon. | |
ASP.NET_SessionId | Issued by Microsoft's ASP.NET Application, this cookie stores session data during a user's website visit. | |
AWSALBCORS | This cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing. | |
bm_sz | This cookie is set by the provider Akamai Bot Manager. This cookie is used to manage the interaction with the online bots. It also helps in fraud preventions | |
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". | |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". | |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. | |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". | |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". | |
elementor | This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time. | |
JSESSIONID | Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests. | |
viewed_cookie_policy | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_ga | The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors. | |
_ga_4L7PKQPHHV | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. | |
_ga_T50H0MNN9J | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. | |
_gat_gtag_UA_12289088_5 | Set by Google to distinguish users. | |
_gcl_au | Provided by Google Tag Manager to experiment advertisement efficiency of websites using their services. | |
_gid | Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
test_cookie | The test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. |
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_mcid | No description available. | |
_swa_u | This cookie is set by the provider Sitewit.com. This cookie is used for statistical report and analysis. | |
ak_bmsc | No description available. | |
AWSALB | AWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB. | |
ec_store_chameleon_font | No description available. | |
FCCDCF | No description available. | |
issuem_lp | No description available. | |
lp_us_his | No description | |
m | No description available. |