European Union Interior and Justice Ministers concluded Friday their 2-day formal meeting in Luxembourg after reaching a deal on key asylum and migration reforms.
According to an EU statement released after the meeting, the Ministers said the agreement related to the asylum and migration management regulation and the asylum procedure regulation.
Both laws are cornerstones of a new European migration and asylum policy which is fair, efficient and sustainable for the long term, it noted.
The Schengen Council exchanged views on the overall state of the visa-free-travel Schengen area, based on a presentation of the European Commission of its State of Schengen report 2023.
Ministers agreed on the areas that should receive special attention from the Schengen Council for the next Schengen Council cycle 2023-2024.
The Schengen Council also discussed the monitoring of visa-free regimes. Ministers called for a more strategic use of the EU visa policy.
They broadly welcomed the European Commission's plan to come up with a legislative proposal - in the second semester of this year - to make the visa suspension mechanism more efficient. This should equip the EU with a better tool to counter cases of abuse of visa-free regimes and to strongly reduce irregular migration into the EU, the added the statement.
From large-scale floods to wildfires and COVID-19, Europe is facing an increasing number of complex, long-lasting crises, stated the ministers.
Due to the Russian war against Ukraine there is also a heightened risk of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) incidents.
In this context, ministers approved conclusions on strengthening whole-of-society resilience in the context of civil protection.
The ministers also discussed the issues of counterterrorism and combatting violent extremism and terrorism.
The implications of Russia's war against Ukraine on the EU's internal security and temporary protection for people fleeing the war also featured on the agenda.
Further, the EU is strengthening rules about the recovery and confiscation of proceeds stemming from crime.
Among other updates, member states would be obliged to enable the confiscation of unexplained wealth under certain conditions, said the statement.
Finally, the ministerial meeting adopted common positions on draft EU laws which are a prerequisite to start negotiations with the European Parliament, to better fight organised crime, combat violence against women and criminalise the violation of EU sanctions.
Source: Kuwait News Agency