Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici led a Maltese delegation in a Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting that was held on the 27th and 28th October 2011 in Luxembourg.

On Thursday 27th October, the Council meeting focussed on matters related to Home Affairs. The Ministers were updated about the latest developments concerning the Schengen Information System II and the Visa Information System. The latter system started being used this month with some success by some member states – including Malta – in a number of North African countries.

The fight against drugs also featured prominently in this meeting’s agenda. Discussions in this area focussed on the new Commission Communication entitled “Towards a stronger European response to drugs” and the adoption of the European Pact against synthetic drugs. The Ministers were also given an update on the latest developments in the trends of drugs and drug trafficking by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction.

In relation to this subject, Minister Mifsud Bonnici stated that with these measures, we are giving an effective answer to our citizens’ concerns. “We are aware of the social and economic consequences that this crime leads to and therefore Malta believes that this fight continues to be a priority,” the Minister said. Indeed Malta has been one of the foremost supporters of these measures since the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, and thus Minister Mifsud Bonnici encouraged the Presidency and the Commission to continue with their tasks, leading to a concrete reply.

The delegations present at the Council meeting were also updated on the state of play on the negotiations for the setting up of the Common European Asylum System, supported by the European Asylum Support Office, which is based in Malta. The Greek Minister gave an overview of the latest developments in the implementation of the Greek National Action Plan on Asylum Reform and Migration Management and various Ministers reacted thereto.

The second day of the Council meeting was dedicated to justice matters. The Presidency gave a brief overview of the discussions on the proposal on the right of the person undergoing criminal proceedings to have access to a lawyer, without debate. Another important item on the agenda was the orientation on a proposal that is currently being discussed by the Council on the support and protection of victims of crime. In relation to this, Minister Mifsud Bonnici stated that this proposal should remain a priority for Justice Ministers. “Victims are persons who are at the losing end because of another person’s wrongdoing and therefore they should be supported and the damages they incurred should be compensated through better legal provisions,” said Minister Mifsud Bonnici.

Finally, the Commission gave a presentation of two new proposals issued this month, namely, one on a common European sales law and the other on criminal sanctions for insider dealing. These proposals will start to be discussed by the Member States during regular meetings of the Council working groups.

Permalink: The fight against drugs & protection of victims of crime