Justice and home affairs ministers define priorities for next five years
The Council is shaping the direction of EU policy in the area of freedom, security and justice.
To this end, the Council today approved the strategic guidelines for legislative and operational planning within the area of freedom, security and justice.
These strategic guidelines demonstrate the unified position of EU member states in addressing migration challenges, restoring the normal functioning of the Schengen area, providing security to EU citizens and fighting crime. A decade has passed since the last strategic guidelines were defined, and after ten years we have successfully reached a shared position. The Hungarian Presidency played a driving role in shaping the future direction of migration and security. This is a significant agreement, demonstrating a shared vision for meaningful action and policy.
Sándor Pintér, Hungarian Minister for Home Affairs
Cooperation on judicial matters is key to protect our fundamental freedoms and sustain prosperity. The strategic guidelines that we approved today are our common plan of action in this area for the next five years. This significant agreement represents the Council’s unified vision on the future of judicial cooperation.
Bence Tuzson, Hungarian Minister of Justice
The strategic guidelines underline the importance of the free movement of persons and recall that a well-functioning Schengen area, where internal border controls remain a temporary measure of last resort, underpins the freedom and security of EU citizens. At the same time, the guidelines recall the need for external border controls and member state cooperation on security and migration.
As regards migration, the text highlights that member states decide who enters Europe, not smugglers or hostile external actors.
In the field of justice, the document emphasises that judicial cooperation is a key objective of the area of freedom, security and justice, based on the cornerstone of the mutual recognition of judgments and judicial decisions between member states.
Other key points of the strategic guidelines include:
Making strategic use of the EU’s visa policy and preventing abuse of the EU’s visa regime
Developing ambitious, durable and comprehensive partnerships with countries of origin and transit, including in the area of border and security partnerships, and considering new ways to prevent and counter irregular migration
Making our societies more resilient against organised crime and, in order to tackle serious and organised crime effectively, depriving criminal groups of their resources
An invitation to the Commission to develop a roadmap for the implementation of the recommendations of the high-level group on access to data for effective law enforcement
Engaging in a reflection on all aspects of EU criminal and civil law in order to ensure consistency and focus on the implementation of the existing acquis