§ Mr. RammellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the outcome of the Justice and Home Affairs Council held in Luxembourg on 29 October; and if he will make a statement. [97106]
§ Mr. StrawThe Minister of State, Home Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche) and I represented the United Kingdom at the Council. The main matters dealt with were as follows:
'A' points
The Council agreed as an 'A' point, among other things, the annual report for 1997–98 on football hooliganism in European Union member states.Open debate on the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice
The Council discussed the outcome of the Tampere European Council. The Commission undertook to present to the December Justice and Home Affairs Council a first draft of the 'scoreboard' (ie progress report) on implementing specific Tampere measures.Follow-up to the Tampere European Council
The Presidency presented a paper they had prepared jointly with the Commission and Council Secretariat on implementation of the results of the Tampere European Council. There was no significant discussion.Draft Eurodac Regulation
The Council noted the Presidency's progress report and encouraged the intensification of efforts to resolve outstanding issues in order to reach agreement at the December Council.Draft Mandate for a parallel Dublin Agreement with Iceland and Norway
At the previous Council meeting on 4 October, the Commission had presented its proposal for a Community agreement to bring Norway and Iceland into the Dublin Convention arrangements. On 29 October, the Council noted that the agreement needed to be concluded quickly and remitted the draft mandate to Coreper to resolve outstanding difficulties.Council decision on opening negotiations between Europol and third countries and international organisations
After discussions, further consideration of the draft instrument was remitted to Coreper.Mutual Legal Assistance Convention: Interception Provisions
The Presidency noted that, while good progress had been made and agreement appeared to be closer, the provisions relating to interception of telecommunications in the draft Convention on 291W Mutual Assistance in criminal matters were still subject to some debate. It circulated for consideration a further compromise text. After discussion, the Presidency concluded that the issue should be remitted to Coreper, with a view to ultimate agreement at the December Council.Justice and Home Affairs information for National Parliaments
This item was remitted to the December Council.