The Justice and Home Affairs Informal Council was held on 25 and 26 January 2008 in Ljubljana. My right hon. and noble Friend the Attorney-General, the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Garston (Maria Eagle) and I attended on behalf of the United Kingdom. Since it was an informal Council, no formal decisions were taken. The following main issues were discussed:

The first Home Affairs session opened with a report from the presidency on the work of the Future Group on EU Home Affairs. Those not on the group were invited to give their views. All supported the work underway, stressing the need to prioritise data-sharing, both within the EU and co-operation with third countries. In relation to other subject areas, there were suggestions that work might look at the further harmonisation of rules to manage the Schengen area, tighter border controls, measures to bring terrorists to justice and the strengthening of action in the area of civil protection and disaster response. Several delegations also raised the need to ensure that the work of the home affairs group and that of the justice future group were linked more closely. The new European Parliament’s civil liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) President, Gérard Deprez, gave a general introduction to the approach of LIBE, stressing their concern for privacy and individual rights.

The presidency concluded that interoperability of databases and the needs of law enforcement should drive future EU policy on data-sharing, coupled with thorough data protection. On migration, an integrated approach to management was needed based on Frontex (the EU’s border agency), operating across land and sea borders. Links with external policy should be stronger, as should data-sharing, and work with and in third countries. In all these areas the EU should analyse what it already had, and then look at the next steps. The presidency noted that a final report should be prepared under the incoming French presidency, with a view to contributing to the successor to the Hague JHA work programme.

The second session discussed practical co-operation in the field of asylum, with the presidency stressing the need for joint practical projects and asking for views on a European Support Office (ESO) which would oversee all forms of co-operation between member states on the Common European Asylum System. The UK welcomed practical co-operation based on an assessment of why people moved. The Commission said that its proposals on the second stage of the Common European Asylum System were due in July and work on an ESO should start with a feasibility study. All member states agreed that practical cooperation should be strengthened, and that there was a need for more uniform country of origin information. All member states also supported the ESO, but views differed as to its role and staffing. The presidency concluded that work to unify the interpretation of existing instruments, common training, and shared interpretation pool should continue. There was wide support for an ESO, but further work was needed on its tasks and financing. The presidency looked forward to the Commission’s ESO study. The Council would be invited to agree conclusions on this at a future session.

The home affairs session closed the official programme with a working lunch, during which Ministers considered the timetable for the implementation of the second generation of the Schengen information system (SIS II). The Commission and presidency argued that member states had to set and commit to a real timetable for SIS II. More time for testing was needed, but a formal decision had to be taken at the February JHA Council. Ministers agreed with a presidency proposal to remodel the oversight of the SIS II project on similar grounds to that used for SISOne4all, setting up a ministerial level steering group of various member states.