The European Union's interior ministers will try to make progress on setting up a temporary system for disembarking migrants rescued at sea at their informal meeting in Bucharest on Thursday 7 February.
As it has repeatedly asked, in response to new cases of rescue in the Mediterranean Sea, the European Commission wants Member States to agree on a predictable solution for migrant disembarkations in the EU and on sustainable systems for distributing migrants between voluntary countries while a solution is found on the reform of the Dublin Regulation on asylum.
The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the EU will open the ministerial debate on the basis of the Commission's specific communication of December 2018 (see EUROPE 12152). The idea is to collect the opinions of Member States on a particularly sensitive and divisive subject before reflecting the results later on.
Preferring the term "transitional" to "temporary" arrangements, the Presidency is of the opinion that a common agreed solution should be reached. It intends to hold a discussion on what Member States would be willing to do, the idea being that all should participate in this mechanism and show solidarity, for example by sending experts and interpreters.
The voluntary distribution of migrants between different countries is another part of the answer, as well as the contribution of European agencies such as the European Coast Guard and Border Guard Agency (Frontex) or the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
In parallel, work on the rest of the asylum package is progressing. Romania hopes to finalise them so that they can be adopted in the medium term, as the six-month Presidency of the Council is aware that the preferred approach is to adopt the legislative package as a whole. No formal validation of the seven texts can therefore be recorded as long as the so-called Dublin Regulation on asylum is pending.
Work is progressing, explained one source. Informal contacts have resumed with the European Parliament on the resettlement of migrants and the asylum procedures regulation. On the latter text, work is currently focusing on border procedures, which should make it possible to quickly identify in transit or border areas who can lodge an asylum application in the EU and who is considered as an economic migrant and must therefore be repatriated quickly to their country of origin.
Schengen. Interior ministers will also be invited to express their views on the future of the Schengen area and the temporary controls at the internal borders of the area of free movement that some countries had restored for the purpose of fighting terrorism.
On Wednesday 6 February, the Committee of Permanent Representatives in the EU (Coreper) will have been informed in advance of the progress of the trilogue interinstitutional negotiations on the reform of the Schengen Borders Code aimed precisely at facilitating the reintroduction of these temporary controls (see EUROPE 12184).
Ministers will be asked to decide on how to return to the normal functioning of the Schengen area, i.e. without internal border controls.
Even if it is not on the agenda, the subject of Romania's and Bulgaria's accession to the free movement area could resurface.
The fight against terrorism and police cooperation are also on the agenda of the ministerial discussions.
Justice On Friday 8 February, the European Ministers of Justice will discuss, at the request of the Romanian Presidency, the future of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters in the EU after 2019.
In the area of criminal justice, ministers will discuss access to electronic evidence. The Council began work on the Directive requiring service providers to appoint a legal representative within the EU who would be responsible for receiving and complying with injunctions (see EUROPE 12181).
The informal meeting will provide an opportunity to take stock of the solutions proposed at EU level and the procedural guarantees provided, in particular in terms of judicial review and the protection of personal data.
On this text, the Romanian Presidency’s objective is a political agreement in principle (‘general approach’) between the Member States by June (see EUROPE 12173). But, if the discussions progress well, the issue could be on the ministers' table again in March.
There is no real urgency, since the proposal for a Regulation on European injunctions (see EUROPE 12155) is currently blocked in the European Parliament (see EUROPE 12147) and it has not yet started to work on the Directive’s proposal. However, the Regulation and the Directive should logically be the subject of parallel negotiations.
It should be noted that the European Commissioners for Justice, Věra Jourová, and for Security, Julian King, will present to the ministers the Commission's two recommendations asking the EU Council to give it a mandate to: - negotiate an agreement with the United States on electronic evidence; - start negotiations on the Second Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime (see other news).
Finally, ministers will be invited to share their views on the future of judicial cooperation in criminal matters in the EU. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Marion Fontana)