At an informal meeting on Thursday 20 July in Logroño, Spain, EU interior ministers discussed how to help police forces conduct their investigations in the digital world.
In February, the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council set up a working group on police access to data, and the ministers reached a “near consensus” on the need to “strengthen their tools”, as summed up by the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, and on the fact that police services “must have the same rights in the digital world” as they do in the real world.
The Spanish Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, for his part, has indicated that the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council will continue the work of this working group. Thursday’s discussion also showed the need to move forward as quickly as possible towards a “balanced legal framework” that respects both fundamental rights and the need for security in the virtual world, added the Minister, so that “police officers and judges” can also be effective.
Although the European ministers did not specifically discuss the proposal for a regulation on the removal of child sexual abuse material from the Internet currently under discussion (see related article), the Commissioner reiterated the importance of this legislation, given that “5.2 million images or material” containing child pornography were reported to the EU by companies in 2022.
The Commissioner, who pointed out that one child in five is currently affected by these crimes of child sexual abuse material or solicitation for sexual offences in Europe, according to a Council of Europe report, called on the Member States to adopt this regulation as quickly as possible. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)