Meeting: Justice and Home Affairs Council, 20 November 2015

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015 the Luxembourg EU Presidency, in coordination with French authorities, convened an extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels on 20 November 2015. The objective was to ensure the follow-up of existing measures and discuss how to strengthen the EU response by adopting a set of conclusions.

Ministers underlined the importance of accelerating the implementation of all areas covered by the statement on counter-terrorism issued by the Members of the European Council of 12 February 2015 and in particular of the following measures: EU Passenger Name Record (PNR) directive, firearms, controls of external borders, information sharing, terrorist financing, criminal justice response to terrorism and violent extremism.

Etienne Schneider, Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Security and President of the Council said: 'The Council recalled the urgency and importance it attaches to the European Passenger Name Record directive. The Presidency maintains its aim of finalising this dossier before the end of this year. We have to negotiate an effective and operational directive which should include internal flights and a reasonable data retention period, and which should not be limited to crimes of a transnational nature. That is the negotiating mandate which was confirmed today by the Council'.

Ministers also adopted, without discussion, a set of conclusions on enhancing the criminal justice response to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism.

• Primary Source

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ESO: Background information: Conclusions of the Council of the European Union and of the Member States meeting within the Council on enhancing the criminal justice response to radicalisation leading to terrorism and violent extremism http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-conclusions-of-the-council-of-the-european-union-and-of-the-member-states-meeting-within-the-council-on-enhancing-the-criminal-justice-response-to-radicalisation-leading-to-terrorism-an/

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Politico, 20.11.15: EU vows to cut off terrorists’ financing networks http://www.politico.eu/article/eu-cut-off-terrorists-financing-networks-funding-bitcoin/

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