The European Union (EU)-U.S. Joint Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs held in Bulgaria on Tuesday and Wednesday allowed leaders to discuss joint efforts to combat terrorism, information sharing, efforts to prevent radicalization, aviation security, and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting Deputy Security for Homeland Security Claire Grady attended the meeting on behalf of the United States. Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos; Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Věra Jourová; and Commissioner for the Security Union Julian King represented the European Union.
A joint statement indicates that the leaders also discussed and shared information on migration, border management, and visa policies. EU leaders summarized migration trends and ongoing initiatives to manage external borders better.
“European Union and the United States took stock of the continuing progress by the European Union and the United States, including that of the five concerned EU Member States, towards meeting the statutory requirements of the Visa Waiver Program, in order to be considered for designation,” according to the joint statement. “Both sides also acknowledged the need for strengthening operational cooperation to effectively prevent and eradicate migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings and also discussed the importance of secure and lawful immigration systems.
Leaders also discussed the importance of sharing passenger name records (PNR), as well as new developments in separate EU-Canada PNR discussions. Leaders will continue the discussion on PNR during the next EU-U.S. Ministerial Meeting on Justice and Home Affairs, which is scheduled to take place later this year in Washington, D.C.