The European Union’s justice ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Friday 14 June for a ‘Justice’ Council to discuss issues relating to the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime. At the start of the meeting, the Presidency will proceed to a vote on the progress made in these areas during its mandate. Two major initiatives will be at the heart of the discussions.
Firstly, the EU Council will adopt conclusions on the creation of a network of specialised prosecutors and investigators dedicated to dismantling criminal networks. This network, which will be operational from 2025, will aim to facilitate cooperation in complex cross-border cases and promote the exchange of information. A series of conclusions on judicial cooperation with third countries will be examined with the aim of better coordinating action against wanted criminals who find refuge abroad.
The President of Eurojust, Ladislav Hamran, will present the progress made by the EU agency for judicial cooperation.
The ministers will also hold two general policy debates on legislative issues. The first debate will be on a proposal for a regulation to facilitate the recognition of parenthood in the Member States, which concerns around two million children. Harmonisation of the rules and the creation of a European certificate of parenthood - supported by the European Parliament (see EUROPE 13314/20) - are planned, in particular for cases of surrogacy parenthood.
The second debate will focus on updating a 2011 directive aimed at combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material (see other news).
The fight against corruption will also be on the agenda, with the aim of agreeing a negotiating mandate to revise the current directive and bring together, for the first time at EU level, rules on corruption in the public and private sectors based on three main pillars: prevention, detection and sanctions.
With regard to insolvency law, the Belgian Presidency will present the progress of the EU Council’s work on a directive aimed at harmonising certain aspects of this area. This initiative is part of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) action plan. EU leaders had called for a rapid finalisation of this plan during the spring summits.
In terms of victims’ rights, the EU Council will adopt a negotiating mandate for the revision of the 2012 directive, aimed at strengthening the minimum rules to ensure better protection and support for victims of crime.
Another point will be the adoption of a negotiating mandate for a regulation on additional procedural rules to the GDPR, aimed at simplifying cooperation between data protection authorities in cross-border cases.
Finally, the EU Council will approve conclusions on the protection of freedom of expression and information and will receive a report on the activities of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office presented by the European Chief Prosecutor, Laura Kövesi. Ministers will be briefed on EU-US negotiations on electronic evidence and presented with the EU Justice Scoreboard 2024 (see other news). (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)