Brussels, 08/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - EU home affairs and justice ministers will meet in Luxembourg on 9 and 10 October to discuss, on the first day, migratory flows in the Mediterranean and European fighters in Syria and Iraq. On the second day, justice ministers are looking to make progress on data protection reform, with the adoption of a partial general approach on Chapter 4 of the regulation. This chapter relates to the obligations of those responsible for data protection and the measures to be taken on the basis of the risk assessment, particularly with regard to the rights of those whose data are being processed. Controllers should be able to assess the possible implications of the processing of personal data and take account of very exact parameters. The aim, however, remains also not to overload businesses with red tape. On Friday 10 October, justice ministers will also discuss, at lunchtime, the implications of the “right to be forgotten” ruling delivered by the EU Court of Justice against Google (see EUROPE 11078), a ruling which required the company to post forms for requesting the right to be forgotten on its site. Also to be discussed on Friday is the establishment of a European prosecutor's office.
Home Affairs. A meeting already took place in Luxembourg on Wednesday evening 8 October between Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and representatives of internet and social network access providers Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter to discuss ways of tackling radicalisation on the internet, after many young Europeans have been “recruited” on social networks. On Thursday, a new note from the anti-terrorism coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, will be put to ministers. It will ask them how they intend to respond to the request from the European Council for progress in plans for a European PNR before the end of the year. Ministers will also decide whether to ask the European Commission to reform the Schengen borders code so as to increase controls on Europeans returning from third countries to the EU, controls which, at present, can only be “non-systematic”.
Ministers will also be informed of the latest developments in the Mediterranean, particularly relating to the Frontex agency's Triton operation, which is due to begin in November. It is still not clear whether this operation will simply replace Italy's Mare Nostrum operation off the coast of Libya, though it is likely that it will not. Most member states feel that the Italian operation is more likely to encourage illegal immigration.
Justice. Alongside data protection, ministers will once again consider establishing a European prosecutor's office. A policy debate will be held to determine whether the European prosecutor's office itself could act in those member states taking part in the project or whether it would have to have recourse to traditional mutual recognition instruments. Also on the agenda is a policy discussion on the presumption of innocence, based on the draft directive presented in November of last year and the mutual recognition of public documents. (SP)