here - United Kingdom Parliament

83WS
Written Ministerial Statements
1 DECEMBER 2010
Written Ministerial Statements
84WS
The presidency will also seek a general approach on
the right to information in criminal proceedings. This is
the second measure in the roadmap to strengthen procedural
rights in criminal proceedings. It aims to set common
minimum standards and improve the rights of suspects
and accused persons by ensuring that they receive
information about their rights. The presidency has taken
on board the Government’s concerns in relation to
article 7 of the draft directive. The Government are
seeking scrutiny clearance to enable it to agree to the
general approach.
The presidency will then seek agreement among
participating member states on the regulation implementing
enhanced cooperation in the field of law applicable to
divorce—Rome III. The European Parliament will adopt
its opinion by the end of the year. The UK is not
participating in this measure.
The presidency held a seminar on 14 October to
discuss issues around resolving child abduction disputes
by mediation. At the end of the seminar the presidency
produced conclusions aimed at encouraging EU law
makers and member states to consider promoting mediation
in such cases. The presidency is seeking agreement to
these conclusions at the Council.
There will be a discussion on the Commission’s
communication on “A comprehensive approach on personal
data protection in the European Union”. The
Communication is intended to serve as a basis for
further discussions between the Commission, other
European institutions and interested parties with a view
to developing a new data protection legislative framework.
It is anticipated that the Commission will publish a
legislative proposal in mid-2011.
The presidency will seek agreement to the adoption
of a negotiating mandate for an EU-US Agreement on
data protection. The agreement would clarify data
protection safeguards for the transatlantic exchange of
personal data for law enforcement purposes.
Ministers will then be provided an information point
on the outcomes of and proposed follow up to the
EU-Russia Permanent Partnership Council (PPC) (freedom,
security and justice) (18-19 November), and the Western
Balkans Ministerial Forum (23-24 November). The PPC
agreed steps forward on visa liberalisation (the top
priority for Russia). They agreed to work on a list of
common steps towards negotiations on an EU-Russia
visa waiver agreement. This does not directly affect the
UK as we are not part of the Schengen visa arrangements.
The UK did not attend the Western Balkans Ministerial
Forum. Ministers will be updated at the JHA Council.
Ministers will then be presented with a report on the
activities of the e-justice working party during the
Belgian presidency. The main focus of this work so far
has been the development of a European e-justice portal
which is a website (launched at the July Informal JUA.
Council) that acts as a point of access to a range of
information on justice matters across the EU.
Over lunch, there will be a discussion about the
forthcoming directive, access to a lawyer. This is the
third measure on the roadmap to strengthening criminal
procedural rights, which is likely to be published in June
2011. The Commission is still in the early stages of
drafting the proposal. It is considering provisions on
the right to waiver legal advice, consequences of violations,
the competence and quality of lawyers and provisions
for European arrest warrant proceedings.