Greek Presidency reaches agreement on Data Protection, Insolvency (Luxembourg, 06.06.2014)
9 Jun 2014 10:51 AM
During the last formal
Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council under the Greek Presidency, EU Justice
Ministers achieved a partial general approach on the Data Protection
Regulation. The Council also agreed on a Regulation modernising
cross-border insolvency rules and on strengthening procedural safeguards for
children involved in criminal proceedings.
he Council reached a partial
general approach on specific issues of the Data Protection Regulation. The
agreement includes the territorial scope, the respective definitions of
“Binding Corporate Rules” (BCR) and "international
organisation" and the transfer of personal data to third countries or
international organisations (Chapter V). As far as the one-stop-shop mechanism
is concerned, the Council defined guidelines for future work. “We have
devoted a lot of effort to this proposal. Sufficient progress has been made to
support a partial general approach. Today’s agreement constitutes a good
basis for future work”, Mr Athanasiou said.
The Council was informed on the
state of play of the Directive governing the processing of personal data by
competent authorities for the purposes of prevention, investigation, detection
or prosecution of criminal offences or the execution of criminal penalties. The
Directive is part of the Data Protection Package, which aims at enhancing
confidence in the online marketplace and improving individual’s control
of their personal data.
The Justice Council reached a
general agreement on the proposal for a Regulation amending Council Regulation
(EC) No 1346/2000 on insolvency. The new legislation will make crossâborder
insolvency proceedings more efficient and quicker and respond to the need for
small and medium businesses to survive the financial crisis. “I would
like to thank all Member States for their cooperation. We have put a lot of
effort into this proposal, which constitutes one of the key priorities for the
Greek Presidency in times of economic crisis”, the Greek Justice Minister
stressed.
The Council also adopted the
revised list of Annexes of the original Insolvency Regulation (EC) No
1346/2000, which includes new insolvency proceedings introduced in Member
States. Regarding insolvency, the Commission announced the interconnection, for
the first time, of insolvency registers of seven Member States (Germany, the
Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia,
Romania.
An agreement was achieved with
respect to the Directive on procedural safeguards for children suspected or
accused in criminal proceedings. “This is the fourth measure on the basis
of the Roadmap on Criminal Procedural Rights that was adopted in 2009 and aims
at enhancing procedural rights in criminal proceedings”, Minister
Athanasiou noted.
Member States confirmed the
priority competence of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) to
investigate and prosecute offences affecting the Union's financial
interests. European Prosecutors will supervise investigations and prosecutions
in their Member States of origin, while the Permanent Chambers will direct,
monitor and, where necessary, give direct instructions. Moreover, the Permanent
Chambers will always be responsible for certain key decisions, such as the
closing of a case. The Council adopted the compromise text for the first 19
Articles of the Regulation, formulated at expert level, as a basis for future
work. “Today we set guidelines as regards the structure and the
concurrent competence of the Office. I think that we have now laid a solid
basis to work upon”, Minister Athanasiou said.
Justice Ministers endorsed
guidelines on the proposal for a Regulation on the European Union Agency for
Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust). With regards to the creation of an
efficient governance model, they expressed their support for an Executive Board
with the participation of the Commission, which will be responsible for
overseeing day to day administration and preparatory work for the College of
Eurojust. This model would allow the College to focus on operational matters,
whilst retaining overall control of the administration.
The Council confirmed the
adoption of the second Multiannual European e-Justice Action Plan 2014-2018.
“Further development of e-Justice is one of the cornerstones of the
efficient functioning of Justice in the Member States and at European
level”, Mr Athanasiou stressed. The Plan focuses mainly on enhancing
access to information in the field of Justice, improving access to courts and
extrajudicial procedures in cross-border situations and strengthening
cooperation with non-EU countries in the area of e-Justice.