Press Release: Justice and Home Affairs Council, Brussels, 5 and 6 December 2013

Main results of the Council:

On Thursday, Home affairs ministers took note of the communication provided by the European Commission on the free movement of EU citizens and their families and concluded that work will continue in cooperation with the member states on the basis of the five actions outlined in the communication.

Dailis Alfonsas Barakauskas, Lithuanian Minister for Interior, said:
"Free movement is a fundamental EU value that we must guard strongly. This right must be accompanied by obligations for the EU citizens and any attempt to abuse this right and the social security systems should be met with the adequate and effective response."

In the context of fighting terrorism, the Council had an in-depth discussion on the issue of fighters from Europe crossing the border into Syria to fight, and the security threat they may pose in the EU when they return. Home affairs ministers agreed to step up the work on the basis of the priorities identified in the report of the EU Counter Terrorism Coordinator.

The Council in the Mixed Committee format (the EU plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland) had a discussion on the communication of the Commission on the work of the Task Force Mediterranean and welcomed the set of actions contained in the document. It also had a discussion on the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania and decided to address this issue again at its earliest convenience.

On Friday, the Council held an in-depth discussion on the proposal for a regulation setting out a general EU framework for data protection. The discussion focused on the one-stop-shop mechanism and related questions on judicial review and judicial redress.

Juozas Bertanotis, Lithuanian minister for Justice, said:
“Data protection reform has been the key priority for the Lithuanian Presidency in the justice area; and we did our utmost to achieve progress. We discussed it in all ministerial meetings and 20 experts’ meetings and the member states noted today how much progress we made. We prefer a strong agreement to a fast one, and must work to ensure a proper balance between business interests and fundamental rights of citizens.”

The Council agreed on a general approach on the draft regulation creating a European Account Preservation Order to facilitate cross border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters and on a proposal for a regulation amending the regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. Both texts will constitute the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree the final text of the regulation.

Ministers held an orientation debate on the proposal for a regulation amending the regulation on insolvency proceedings in order to establish a number of guidelines for the continuation of the work.

Furthermore, the Council adopted conclusions on combating hate crime, on the EU Citizenship Report 2013 and on the evaluation of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

Finally, Justice and Home affairs ministers exchanged views on the future development of the Justice and Home Affairs area, which will serve as a basis for continuing the discussions on the post-2014 period under the Greek Presidency.

ESO: Background information: Council conclusions on alerts pursuant to Article 26 of Regulation (EC) No 1987/2006 on the establishment, operation and use of the SIS II http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-council-conclusions-on-alerts-pursuant-to-article-26-of-regulation-ec-no-1987-2006-on-the-establishment-operation-and-use-of-the-sis-ii/

ESO: Background information: Council conclusions adopting the 2014-2016 EU work programme on minimising risks to safety, security and public order in connection with sports events, in particular football matches, with an international dimension http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-council-conclusions-adopting-the-2014-2016-eu-work-programme-on-minimising-risks-to-safety-security-and-public-order-in-connection-with-sports-events-in-particular-football-matches-w/

ESO: Background information: Council conclusions on Mass Evacuation in Case of Disasters in the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-council-conclusions-on-mass-evacuation-in-case-of-disasters-in-the-european-union/

European Commission: RAPID: Speech, SPEECH/13/1029: Justice Council: We need a simple solution for citizens and business on data protection http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-1029_en.pdf

European Commission: RAPID: Speech, SPEECH/13/1027: Data Protection: Vice-President Reding's intervention in the Justice Council http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-1027_en.pdf

European Commission: RAPID: Memo, MEMO/13/1094: Justice and Home Affairs Council 5-6 December 2013 in Brussels http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-1094_en.pdf

European Commission: RAPID: Speech, SPEECH/13/1025: Free movement: Vice-President Reding's intervention at the December Justice and Home Affairs Council http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-13-1025_en.pdf

European Commission: RAPID: Memo, MEMO/13/1109: European Commission proposal to pave way for unitary patent backed by Ministers http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-1109_en.pdf

ESO: Background information: Council conclusions on the evaluation of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-council-conclusions-on-the-evaluation-of-the-european-union-agency-for-fundamental-rights/

ESO: Background information: Council conclusions on the EU Citizenship Report 2013 http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-council-conclusions-on-the-eu-citizenship-report-2013/

ESO: Background information: Council conclusions on combating hate crime in the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-council-conclusions-on-combating-hate-crimein-the-european-union/

European Commission: RAPID: Press Release, IP/13/1209: Commission welcomes breakthrough on its proposal to help businesses recover cross-border debts http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-1209_en.pdf

---