Hojs hosts first trialogue on Europol mandate’s review

Brussels – As chair of the EU’s Home Affairs Council, Interior Minister Aleš Hojs hosted in Brussels on Wednesday the first session as part of the inter-institutional negotiations on Europol mandate’s review. The trialogue that also features the European Parliament was held in a constructive atmosphere, the Slovenian EU presidency said.

As part of the trialogue, the Council of the EU and European Parliament will coordinate the wording of proposals for changes to the relevant regulations that enables the powers of Europol to be expanded in terms of research and innovation, handling of big data and cooperation with third countries.

In addition to Minister Hojs, the session also featured the relevant rapporteur of the European Parliament Javier Zarzalejos and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, and was held in a constructive atmosphere, the press release says.

Hojs and Zarzalejos determined the schedule of meetings at the technical and political levels for until the end of the year, at which a balanced agreement is expected to be reached.

The Slovenian interior minister said that the positions of the Council of the EU and European Parliament were very close regarding a number of questions, while the institutions were far apart in certain issues, so a lot of effort still needed to be invested.

Hojs nevertheless expressed the belief that a political agreement could be reached by the end of the year.

On Tuesday, the minister took part in and addressed a virtual session of the Joint Parliamentary Scrutiny Group on Europol, organised in Brussels by the Slovenian National Assembly and the European Parliament.

The session reviewed Europol’s activities this year and heard a presentation of Europol Draft Multiannual Programming Document for 2022-2024.

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