Justice and Home Affairs Council

 

When: 25/10/2012 - 26/10/2012
Where: Kirchberg building, Luxembourg
Topic: Justice and citizens rights
Organiser: Council of the EU

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On 25 October, Home affairs Ministers will:

• have an orientation debate on the proposal for a decision concerning a Union Civil Protection Mechanism, which will replace the current decision in this field;
• take note of the state of play regarding the full application of the provisions of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania, the establishment of a common European asylum system and the establishment of a Regional Protection Programme, in response to the Syrian crisis.
• take note of a Commission presentation on illicit trafficking of firearms;
• adopt Council conclusions on the protection of soft targets from terrorist activities.

The presidency will then give a brief overview of the state-of-play of a number of other legislative proposals in the area of home affairs.

The Mixed Committee (the EU plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland), meeting in the margins of the Council, will also examine the application of the Schengen acquis in Bulgaria and Romania. Furthermore, it will review the state of play regarding the implementation of the Schengen Information System (SIS II) and take note of a presentation by the Commission and Frontex (the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders) on illegal Immigration. In this context, the Committee will be briefed on the Greek National Action Plan on Asylum Reform and Migration Management. Finally, the Commission will present its third report on the post-visa liberalisation monitoring for the Western Balkan countries.

On 26 October, Justice ministers will:

• take stock of the state of play and hold a debate on two proposals for directives on criminal sanctions for insider dealing and market manipulation ("market abuse directive") and on the freezing and confiscation of proceeds of crime in the EU;
• discuss a proposal for a directive on the protection of the EU's financial interests by criminal law, following a presentation by the Commission;
• take note of the state of play on a revision of the 1995 regulation on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection regulation);
• discuss the recommendations contained in the final report on the fifth round of mutual evaluations, dedicated to financial crime and financial investigations;

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) will present the 2012 report on the state of the drug problem in Europe, and ministers will be invited to exchange views on the report.

The presidency will hold a press briefing in the Council press room in Brussels on Wednesday 24 October at 13.00. A press conference will take place at the end of the meeting.

A presidency briefing, agenda and background note will be published on the Council website closer to the date of the meeting.

• Presidency of the Council of the EU website
• Council website