Credit: MAINT
Luxembourg's Ministry of Home Affairs has reported that Minister Léon Gloden participated in the EU Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday 5 March 2025.
During the Council, the European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, presented the Schengen Barometer, emphasising the strengths and weaknesses of the Schengen area.
Luxembourg's Minister for Home Affairs, Léon Gloden, is said to have stressed the need to strengthen the protection of the external borders and the common return policy. The measures introduced in Luxembourg are starting to have a positive impact in terms of statistics, he said. The minister spoke about internal border controls to address the modalities and the disproportionate impact of controls on Luxembourg. The consequences vary greatly between controls in Germany and those in France, he noted.
Minister Gloden reiterated "Luxembourg's willingness to modernise police cooperation with its neighbours and to conclude bilateral agreements to regulate the reciprocal surrenders of persons crossing the borders irregularly." He thanked his German and French counterparts who had welcomed this proposal. "Schengen must remain alive for its 40th anniversary; it is not only an area of free movement of goods and capital, it is above all an area that must guarantee the free movement of people. Schengen must be alive," he stressed.
Subsequently, the EU ministers looked at the possibilities of improving the effective return rate (migration) and adopted a negotiating mandate for the entry and exit system. The minister stressed that Luxembourg is "ready" for this.
The subject of the strengthening of cooperation with the sixteen member countries of the Latin American Committee on Internal Security (CLASI) was the focus of a working lunch bringing together EU ministers and their counterparts from the CLASI countries. They paid particular attention to the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking. On this occasion, Minister Gloden highlighted the good cooperation with Colombia and with Europol in the context of the recent record cocaine seizures in Luxembourg. "If we manage to fight drug trafficking effectively and improve living conditions, this will at the same time allow us to make progress in the area of migration with these countries," he said.
Recalling that an exchange of data is the keystone in the fight against trafficking and the criminal groups involved, Minister Gloden again welcomed the progress made in the negotiations aimed at concluding cooperation agreements allowing an exchange of personal data between Europol, Eurojust and the law enforcement agencies of Latin American countries.
During a discussion on the return of Syrians to their country of origin, Minister Gloden supported the organisation of exploratory "go-and-see" visits to Syria with the establishment of a common framework to facilitate these visits. He said that the European Union should assist Syrians who wish to return home, which requires adequate funding for the operations of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the region. He also supported requests to return Syrian nationals who clearly pose a security threat or have been convicted of crimes.
The ministers also exchanged views on the consequences of the change of government in Syria for the EU's internal security. In order to reduce the infiltration of individuals who could pose a danger to public security, according to the Luxembourg ministry, it is important to carry out systematic checks at the EU's external borders and to ensure that information systems, such as the Schengen Information System (SIS II), are fed with quality data. Given the volatility of the situation, it is important to have a responsive and adaptable system, the ministry added.
Prior to the JHA Council, on Tuesday 4 March 2025, Minister Gloden met with his German counterpart, Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser, on the modalities of reintroduced internal border controls with Luxembourg. The two ministers are reported to have agreed to develop new agreements on transfer procedures and police cooperation with a view to being able to move towards normalisation at the internal borders.
On the sidelines of the JHA Council, Minister Gloden also met his Belgian counterpart, Minister of Security and the Interior Bernard Quintin. They took stock of police cooperation within the Benelux and the fight against drug trafficking. The two ministers are said to have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation, with Minister Gloden reiterating that Luxembourg is against internal border controls.
