Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Security, Étienne Schneider, has reported positive results achieved by the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU regarding the 'Internal Security' componenet of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council.
On Monday 11 January 2016, the Deputy Prime Minister pointed to strengthened measures in the fight against terrorism; the finalisation of negotiations between the Council, the Parliament and the Commission on the European Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive; finalisation of the new regulation of the Europol agency; and the implementation of the renewed internal security strategy for the 2015-2020 period as all reflective of the successful work performed by the Presidency in this field.
"As for the 'Internal Security' component, the Luxembourg Presidency has far exceeded its original goals," Minister Schneider stated. "This success certainly lies in the general context of the terrorist threat in the second half of 2015, but also our methodology to advance and approve projects improving the security of European citizens and strengthening the fight against terrorism."
Director-General of the Grand Ducal Police Philippe Schrantz was also present at the press conference to take stock of force's operational missions during the Presidency, which was held by Luxembourg from July to December 2015 and has been taken up by the Netherlands for the next six months.
Philippe Schrantz outlined the general supervision of the territory, the protection of meeting and accommodation sites and peacekeeping during demonstrations. It was reported that Grand Ducal Police officers worked nearly 20,000 hours of overtime between July and December 2015.
Photo by Ministry of Internal Security (L-R: Philippe Schrantz, Director-General of the Grand-Ducal Police; Étienne Schneider, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Internal Security; Jean-Louis Bordet, Justice and Internal Affairs Councillor)
