Security Union and European Council preparations - Main contents

Source: European Commission (EC) i, published on Tuesday, December 11 2018.

Commission calls for more efforts to ensure adoption of security proposals, discusses Brexit and prepares December European Council and Euro Summit

Security Union

The Commission reported today on progress made in building a genuine and effective Security Union since the October European Council.

Good progress is being achieved on a number of security initiatives, including the proposals to remove terrorist content online and to reinforce the European Border and Coast Guard, but more efforts are needed from the European Parliament and the Council to deliver results on all pending security proposals ahead of the European Parliament elections in May 2019.

In today's report, the Commission focuses on the following three main aspects crucial to complete a genuine and effective Security Union:

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Delivering on security initiatives: There are a number of priority security files still awaiting adoption by the European Parliament and the Council. This includes the proposals to make the EU's security, migration and border management information systems interoperable, while the proposals to strengthen the European Border and Coast Guard, remove terrorist content off the web and improve cross-border access to electronic evidence - crucial for internal security - should be adopted as a priority.
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Enforcing new rules: New security laws are only as good as their implementation. With this in mind, the Commission calls on Member States to implement as a matter of priority the agreed rules on: passenger name records, countering terrorism, cybersecurity, access to weapons, money-laundering and data protection law enforcement.
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Building resilience: The EU has set out concrete measures to counter disinformation in Europe and beyond, calling on online platforms to deliver on their responsibility to ensure free and fair elections. Steps have also been taken to further protect public spaces, including preparation of guidance material for public space protection and barrier systems, and to research new security solutions.

In addition, the Commission continues to work with internet companies to fight terrorist content online in the context of the EU Internet Forum.The Commission has also made available an additional €5 million under the Internal Security Fund (ISF) to counter radicalisation through community and youth engagement (more information here) and €12 million under the Civil Society Empowerment Programme launched via the EU Internet Forum to strengthen counter-terrorist narratives online.

European Council and Euro Summit preparations

The College further focused on preparations for the European Council and the Euro Summit which will take place at the end of this week. The big pieces of Commission contributions which have been presented last week are the Communication on the next long-term budget, the proposals to strengthen the international role of the euro, the Commission's call to Member States and the European Parliament to move forward in the migration agenda and an Action Plan to fight disinformation.

Other issues

The Commission's Chief Negotiator for Article 50 negotiations with the UK, Michel Barnier, debriefed the College on the latest developments regarding Brexit.

The College also discussed the latest developments following the Swiss Federal Council announcements on the Institutional Framework Agreement, the ongoing UN climate change conference in Katowice and the Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration which takes place in Marrakech.

Finally, the College discussed the Citizens' Dialogues and Citizens' Consultations Progress report, as the Commission's contribution to the upcoming European Council while Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström debriefed on the state of play of the ratification of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.

Related links

Press release - A Europe that Protects

Factsheet: A Europe that protects

Communication: 17th Progress Report toward an effective and genuine Security Union