Balance of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU

The presentation session of the balance of the Portuguese Presidency took place at the Belém Cultural Centre, in Lisbon, and is available for online viewing.

Without prejudice to more detailed information to be released in due course, the results achieved show that the objectives set in the area of Justice have been successfully met.

The following legislative instruments were approved during the semester:

• Proposal for a Regulation on the law applicable to the third-party effects of assignments of claims ("Assignment of claims" Regulation);
• Proposal for a Regulation on a computerised system for communication in cross-border civil and criminal proceedings (e-CODEX system), and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1726 ("e-CODEX" Regulation)
• Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 168/2007 establishing a European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights;
• Directive amending Council Framework Decision 2002/465/JHA of 13 June 2002 on joint investigation teams as regards their alignment with EU rules on the protection of personal data;
• Directive amending Directive 2014/41/EU of 3 April 2014 on the European Investigation Order in criminal matters as regards its alignment with EU rules on personal data protection.

Council Conclusions were adopted in the following areas:

• Council Conclusions on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults in Europe;
• Council Conclusions on enhancing the training of legal practitioners;
• Council Conclusions on strengthening the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
• Council Conclusions on Industrial Property policies.

High-level conferences were held on priority themes of the Presidency:

• Protection of vulnerable adults in Europe;
• E-justice;
• Metamorphosis of intellectual property, including the fight against counterfeiting and its links with organised crime;
• Training for legal practitioners.

The meetings of the European judicial cooperation networks were hosted:

• European Judicial Network in criminal matters (EJN);
• European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters.

The Minister of Justice chaired three meetings of the Ministers of Justice (29 January, 11 March and 7 June), attended three meetings with European Parliament Committees (CONT, LIBE and JURI), took part in 14 conferences and seminars on different topics, particularly on fundamental rights, the rule of law, the digitalisation of justice and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (she was represented at two of them).

At the multilateral level, the minister made speeches at the 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and UNGASS2021 - Special General Assembly against Corruption, at the II Meeting between Justice Authorities of the European Union and Latin America, at the EL PAcCTO Programme (Europe-Latin America Programme of Assistance against Transnational Organized Crime) and at the Seminar "Judicial Cooperation in the Digital Era: the Medellin Treaty as a tool to streamline relations between States", of the Conference of Ministers of Justice of Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB), in a clear commitment to deepen cooperation with the Ibero-American space.

The Minister of Justice met and had bilateral contacts with other Justice Ministers of the European Union (eight meetings), with the European Commissioner for Justice and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, as well as with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Deputy Assistant US Attorney General, in the margins of the EU-US Justice and Home Affairs Ministerial meeting in Lisbon which she co-chaired.