The EU Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs will hold another informal videoconference meeting on 6 and 7 July to discuss the impact of the pandemic on fundamental rights and, from a home affairs perspective, how to respond to the issue of the disembarkation of migrants rescued at sea.
During the meeting on justice matters, on 6 July EU justice ministers or their representatives will hold a discussion that German minister Christine Lambrecht described earlier this week as “exciting”: revisiting the restrictions on individual freedoms during the pandemic, the justification for the restrictions, and also how citizens experienced all of the restrictions and the criticisms that have been made.
In its agenda, the German Presidency explains that the discussion should enable democracies and states that are “governed by the Rule of law” to be better equipped to deal with crises of this nature.
The minister had already explained that the Rule of law subject would be a central focus during Germany’s six-month Presidency. In addition to the planned discussions on the Commission's first annual report involving the EU27, the Presidency might also schedule a progress report on the Article 7 proceedings against Poland and Hungary for a General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting in September, followed by hearings with the two countries at another GAC in December.
At this meeting, the Commission will also be presenting its new strategy on victims' rights (EUROPE 12513/11), one of the aims of which is to improve the reporting of crimes. A session will be organised with the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator.
Disinformation
The meeting will also provide an opportunity to discuss two other topics that have proved particularly sensitive during the pandemic: disinformation and the spread of hate speech online.
Rumours, disinformation and conspiracy theories about Covid-19 have multiplied in recent months (see EUROPE 12455/19). The Commission presented a series of measures to address this problem in early June (see EUROPE 12503/1).
At that time, the institution also condemned the worrying increase in racist and xenophobic content linked to the pandemic, as well as cases of disinformation that targeted specific ethnic or religious groups.
Discussions will therefore focus on Member States' experiences with online disinformation and the instruments needed to address them.
The German Presidency added that “the ministers will exchange views on possible measures against online hate speech at national level as well as jointly in the areas of EU competence”.
This should include the Digital Services Act (see EUROPE 12352/7), which is expected before the end of the year.
Sea rescues and disembarkation of migrants
During the discussion of home affairs matters on Tuesday 7 July, the ministers will focus on the fate of migrants who are rescued at sea, against the backdrop of the 180 migrants still being held on the ship the Ocean Viking between Malta and Italy this weekend while they wait to see if they can land.
In the absence of a Pact on Asylum and Migration, which will be presented later this year and which will contain a section on search and rescue at sea, ministers will again be invited to provide an EU response to the situation in the Mediterranean. According to one source, they will again be discussing partnerships with the countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean as part of the effort to combat human trafficking, as well as returning people who have landed in Europe but are not eligible for asylum.
Member States will also be invited to carry out returns from the countries of first entry, in this case Maltese or Italian ports.
The other topic on the agenda is the ‘European Police Partnership’. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Agathe Cherki and Marion Fontana)