By: UKOM
Minister of the Interior Aleš Hojs presented the Slovenian Presidency’s priorities to members of the LIBE Committee. The priorities include the current migration situation.
The priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council in the field of internal affairs are based on finding appropriate common and comprehensive solutions at the EU level regarding migration management with the aim of eliminating the root causes of migration, and efforts to combat migrant smuggling and human trafficking. “At an informal meeting of ministers of the interior in July, the ministers showed the political will to make gradual progress in shaping the EU’s common migration policy,” said Minister Hojs, adding that they will continue their intense work on legislative proposals, especially the Eurodac regulation, in September.
The minister also spoke about the current migration situation in the EU and the world. “We are following the situation in Afghanistan, and, according to the joint statement of the ministers from the extraordinary session two days ago, the Union will also respond to the possible effects of the situation on the EU,” Hojs said and reiterated his condemnation of the attempts to instrumentalise people for political purposes, which are taking place at the EU’s external border with Belarus.
Strengthening the Schengen Area
The key objectives include strengthening the Schengen Area and ensuring a high level of security in the EU and Slovenia. “Strengthening the Schengen Area is extremely important for the Slovenian Presidency, which is why the discussions on the proposal for the Schengen evaluation mechanism in the competent working group started on the very first day of the presidency,” said Minister Hojs. “This was followed by the ministers’ discussion in July, which outlined the direction regarding the Schengen Code proposal to be presented by the European Commission by the end of the year.”
The regional priority is the Western Balkans and the need for close cooperation in activities to support the countries of the region in joining Euro-Atlantic integrations and transposing EU standards. “We and our Western Balkan partners place particular emphasis on strengthening police cooperation in the field of preventing the sexual abuse of children online,” the minister added.
Source: gov.si