EUROGROUP,COUNCIL OF THE EU...update

Diploma mobility in the EU: having ambitions for our students 01/03/2024 | Press release Diploma mobility in the EU: having ambitions for our students The informal meeting of higher education ministers took place at the Egmont Palace in Brussels on Thursday 29 February and Friday 1 March 2024. This was an opportunity to look at a key theme for European integration, i.e. student mobility leading to qualifications.

Press material Friday 1 March 2024

● Eurogroup   01/03/2024 14:32 | Press release | Eurogroup statement on the updated draft budgetary plan of Slovakia for 2024   We welcome the submission of the updated draft budgetary plan (DBP) for 2024 of Slovakia on 12 December 2023, as well as the Commission´s Opinion published on 16 January 2024. We note that the budget was passed into law on 21 December 2023, shortly after the submission of the updated DBP and ahead of the publication of the Commission Opinion. In this respect we recall that the Two Pack Code of Conduct requires Member States to submit their DBPs well in advance of the envisaged budget approval by the national Parliament, allowing the Commission to issue an opinion and the Eurogroup to have a discussion on this basis, before the budget adoption. In this case, Slovakia’s submission did not respect the Two-Pack Code of Conduct, due to the decision to have a budget in place before the year-end and to avoid operating under a provisional budget and the related uncertainty following elections over the autumn. We recall the importance of adhering to the Two Pack Code of Conduct requirements. We agree with the Commission assessment, which points to the risk of the updated DBP of Slovakia being not in line with the fiscal recommendations of the Council from July 2023. The Eurogroup invites Slovakia to consider in a timely manner and as necessary to take action to address the risks identified by the Commission to ensure that fiscal policy is in line with the recommendations adopted by the Council and welcomes Slovakia’s commitment to follow-up as needed, including during the implementation of its 2024 budget. We recall the Commission’s intentions regarding deficit-based Excessive Deficit Procedures and, in line with our December statement on the DBPs, we encourage Slovakia and other Member States with deficits above 3% of GDP to take the necessary measures. The Eurogroup will continue to closely monitor economic and fiscal developments regularly and reinforce its policy coordination.

Meetings Friday 1 March 2024

● Council of the EU   01/03/2024 14:36 | MEETING | Agenda highlights - Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Energy), 4 March 2024   EU energy ministers will address the state of play in terms of security of supply and preparations for winter 2024-2025. They will seek political agreement on Council recommendation on continuing coordinated demand-reduction measures for gas.

Meetings Friday 1 March 2024

● Council of the EU   01/03/2024 14:05 | MEETING | Background brief - Justice and Home Affairs Council 4 and 5 March 2024   Background brief - Justice and Home Affairs Council 4 and 5 March 2024

Press material Friday 1 March 2024

● Council of the EU   01/03/2024 13:14 | Press release | Air passenger data: Council and European Parliament reach provisional agreement to increase security and enhance border management   Today, the Belgian presidency of the Council and European Parliament negotiators have provisionally agreed on two regulations that govern the collection and use of air passenger data for border management and law enforcement. The new rules will improve the handling of advance passenger information (API) data to perform checks on passengers prior to their arrival at the EU’s external borders but also for intra-EU flights in the fight against terrorism and serious crime. They will enhance the fight against serious crime and terrorism within the EU, supplementing the processing of passenger name record (PNR) data. Advance passenger information (API) contains identification details from the travel document and basic flight information and will be transmitted before and after take-off to authorities at the place of arrival. "A more efficient border management at airports and a strengthened information position for law enforcement authorities about people flying into and within the EU are two important benefits of the advance passenger information regulations we agreed on today." Annelies Verlinden, Minister of the interior, institutional reform and democratic renewal Uniform rules for data collection The two regulations stipulate what API data air carriers must collect and transfer. API data will consist of a closed list of traveller information such as name, date of birth, nationality, type and number of the travel document, seating information and baggage information. In addition, air carriers will be obliged to collect certain flight information, for instance the flight identification number, the airport code and time of departure and arrival. The collection and transfer of API data in principle only concerns flights that depart from outside of the EU. However, member states may decide to include intra-EU flights. Such a decision will depend on specific law enforcement needs such as a terrorist threat and must in the absence of such threat be supported by a suitably motivated risk assessment. Better crime fighting and improved border controls Thanks to the new regulations, law enforcement authorities will be able to combine travellers’ API data and passenger name records (PNR). The PNR is a larger set of air passenger reservation data and contains details about the itinerary of a passenger and information of the flight booking process. When used together, API and PNR are particularly effective to identify high-risk travellers and to confirm the travel pattern of suspected persons. Also border authorities will benefit from the agreed new rules. Because they will get a more complete view of travellers arriving at airports, border authorities will be able to perform pre-checks before landing, store the data longer than is foreseen today to perform the necessary checks and as a consequence manage their border controls more efficiently. This will strengthen border security as it should increase the chances of preventing unwanted border crossings. Passengers should benefit from shorter waiting times and smoother passport checks. Automated data-collection Airlines will have to collect the API data contained in travel documents by automated means (e.g. through scanning machine-readable passports). Only if an automated collection of traveller data is not possible because of technical reasons can an air carrier collect the data manually (either as part of the online check-in or the check-in at the airport). The possibility to provide data manually during the online check-in will in any case remain available during a transitional period of 2 years. Verification mechanisms will be put in place by the air carriers in order to guarantee the accuracy of the data. Single router In order to streamline the transmission of the API data the Council and Parliament decided to put in place a central router. This router, which will be developed by an EU agency, will receive the data collected by the air carriers and then transmit it to the relevant border management and law enforcement authorities. This router will then later also serve for the collection and transmission of PNR data. Because air carriers will no longer have to send API data to multiple authorities this will enhance the efficiency and reduce costs of the data transfer and reduce the risk of errors and abuses. Next steps The agreement that was reached today will have to be confirmed by member states’ representatives (Coreper) before formal adoption in the European Parliament and in the Council. Assito Kanko (ECR/BE) and Jan-Christoph Oetjen (RENEW/DE) are the European Parliament’s rapporteurs for both files whereas Commissioner Ylva Johansson in charge of home affairs represented the European Commission. Passenger data (background information)