During its six-month mandate, the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council will focus on cross-border cooperation in the area of justice. The overriding objective for the next six months is to consolidate and intensify judicial cooperation between EU Member States.
This includes the digitalisation of cross-border judicial cooperation, on which a regulation was adopted in December 2023 (see EUROPE 13311/20) to improve access to justice, increase the efficiency and speed of proceedings and strengthen the resilience of judicial systems.
The Belgian Presidency will also attach significant importance to the implementation of warrants as part of the mutual recognition of judicial decisions in criminal matters. It also aims to confirm the political agreement reached last month on the regulation on the transfer of criminal proceedings within the EU (see EUROPE 13306/1).
To meet the needs of European citizens in cross-border situations, the Belgian Presidency wants to promote the initiative on the recognition of parenthood between Member States. Although MEPs agreed on this issue and the introduction of a European Parenthood Certificate at the end of the Spanish Presidency (see EUROPE 13314/20), the EU Council is not obligated to follow Parliament’s opinion.
The Belgian Presidency is committed to supporting and protecting the victims of criminal offences, seeking to agree on a general approach to the revision of the directive on victims’ rights (see EUROPE 13307/7).
Combating gender-based violence, violence mainly affecting women and domestic violence is also a key priority. The Presidency will work to finalise the directive, which is currently the subject of inter-institutional negotiations (see EUROPE 13313/14).
It will also closely monitor the EU’s accession to the European Convention on Human Rights, underlining its commitment to fundamental rights.
Belgium is organising an informal ministerial meeting on justice and home affairs from 24 to 26 January in Brussels and Antwerp.
Read the programme: https://aeur.eu/f/a4i (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)