EU European Council: 18 October 2018 Migration, internal security and Big Brother database
04 October 2018
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European Council: 18 October 2018
Migration, internal security and Big Brother database
4.10.18
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European Council: European Council meeting (18 October 2018) – Draft guidelines for conclusions (LIMITE doc no: 11816-18.pdf) target migration, disinformation and interoperable centralised database:
Migration
On migration the Council will repeat long-standing demands for:
"cooperation with countries of origin and transit, and in particular how to step up the fight against people smuggling and to facilitate efficient returns." [emphasis added throughout]
And they are keen to get three measures agreed quickly before the New Year when the parliament starts to wind down before the EU elections.
"The European Council will call on the Council to examine as a matter of priority the recent additional Commission proposals on the Return directive, the Asylum agency and the European Border and Coast Guard, ensuring the most efficient use of ways and means..."
This is in the wider context of: Negotiating directives for a Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States of the one part, and with countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States of the other part (Doc no: 8094-ADD-1-18,pdf) where the aim is:
"to achieve measurable results in terms of stemming illegal migration and returning irregular migrants.(...)
the Parties will commit to responding swiftly to readmission requests (in particular, through identification of their nationals, issuance of travel documentation for return or acceptance of the EU travel document for return, timely response on formalities of return operations (...)"
Internal security
Under this heading the Council is concerned to:
"protect the Union's democratic systems and combat disinformation, including in the context of the European elections (...)
To complement those measures, the High Representative and the Commission will submit an Action Plan for a coordinated response to disinformation in December."
And to:
"improve the interoperability of information systems and databases. Negotiations on the Commission's interoperability proposals should be concluded by the end of the year and all measures should be taken for their entry into force by 2020, in particular the common identity repository."
See: "The point of no return”: Interoperability morphs into the creation of a Big Brother centralised EU state database including all existing and future Justice and Home Affairs databases (Statewatch Analysis) and the Statewatch Observatory (link)
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