The European Union’s interior ministers are meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday 19 October to take stock of progress on the highly controversial draft regulation on the removal of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from the Internet, and also, over lunch, to discuss the implications of events in Israel and Gaza for the EU’s internal security.
The ministers will also hold the regular Schengen Council meeting in the morning to take stock of the health of the free movement area, with a focus on migrant smuggling and the need to strengthen police cooperation. In the afternoon, they will discuss the external dimension of migration and the possibilities of EU funding for new partnerships with third countries.
On the CSAM, the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council has not yet been able to put a possible partial general approach on the agenda, and will therefore only provide a progress report on the work of the EU Council at a time when there is still no qualified majority on this text.
The Spanish Presidency submitted new proposals last week, but has not yet succeeded in obtaining sufficient support (see EUROPE 13271/12). Contrary to what it had envisaged, it has not proposed any new working documents this week and will sound out the ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday on the avenues currently on the table.
Countries such as Germany, Austria and Poland, as well as Luxembourg and France, are not in a position to support the project on the table, for various reasons.
For the German government, there is in particular an internal struggle over the balance to be struck between the need for police to detect this equipment and the need to safeguard privacy by avoiding widespread surveillance of private communications.
In any case, some doubt that the Spanish proposals currently on the table can be validated.
As part of the lunchtime discussion, the ministers will also discuss the recent terrorist attacks in France and Belgium. On the conflict between Israel and the terrorist organisation Hamas, they will take stock of security measures in the EU to protect Jewish institutions and prevent radicalisation.
Another subject on Thursday’s agenda is the interoperability of European information systems, which is constantly being put off. In principle, the Commission and the EU-Lisa agency are expected to announce to ministers that the interoperability and entry into force of the EU Entry/Exit system will be operational in July 2024.
The external dimension of migration
The EU interior ministers will also discuss the external dimension of migration and will continue their discussions on a “preventive” model for irregular immigration. The discussion could therefore once again focus on the laborious implementation of the agreement with Tunisia, even though the Commission is still considering replicating this type of agreement with countries such as Egypt and Morocco.
It is also possible that the ministers will express their potential concerns about new waves of migratory flows linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In any case, they will be invited to discuss this external dimension on the basis of a Presidency note dated 17 October, which states that “a comprehensive approach to migration requires a combination of increased external actions, stronger and more effective funding, mutually beneficial global partnerships with countries of origin and transit, addressing the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement, strengthening the protection and border management capacities of transit countries”, or “legal migration opportunities, more effective protection of the EU’s external borders, the fight against organised crime, including the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings, addressing the instrumentalisation of migration and stepping up cooperation on returns and readmissions”.
According to the Presidency, the EU should become more proactive and make optimum use of the mutually beneficial partnership framework to implement the European Union's external action in key countries.
“In this context, we need to assess whether the toolbox is suited to a new prevention model or whether the existing tools need to be optimised. Ministers are invited to examine how current tools could be implemented more effectively on the ground, including, among other things, the role of EU agencies and EU delegations, in order to strengthen the EU’s external migration policy by following a preventive model and a proactive approach”, the note states.
The Presidency also asks “with regard to return and readmission, what additional measures are considered to be the most effective for strengthening cooperation on readmission with key countries, in particular Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Iraq, Senegal and Gambia?”
The ultimate aim of the external dimension of migration policies “is to establish global, sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships with migrants’ countries of origin and transit. Achieving this objective requires solid political, operational and financial support. EU funding plays an important role in the EU’s response to migration challenges in the external dimension”.
“With the aim of ensuring a sustainable financing framework in the medium and long term, the ministers are invited to reflect on how to improve the financial allocation in order to put in place a more effective external dimension for migration, in line with the preventive model and a mutually beneficial framework”, the discussion note goes on to say. The subject of financing these policies will be addressed at the European Council on 26 October.
Finally, the ministers will also be briefed on the various negotiations underway on the texts of the ‘New Pact on Migration and Asylum’. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Nithya Paquiry)