Grande-Marlaska conveys the priorities of the upcoming Spanish presidency of the EU to the Hungarian Minister for Home Affairs

The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has met with his Hungarian counterpart, Sándor Pintér, in Budapest to inform him of the interior affairs priorities of the upcoming Spanish Presidency of the European Union.

During his meeting at the Hungarian Ministry of Home Affairs, Grande-Marlaska told Pintér of his desire to make progress on the open dossiers in order to reach as many agreements as possible before the end of the current European legislature, in 2024, and to hand over the baton to Hungary "with no outstanding issues". Hungary will be the first country to take over the EU presidency after the European elections scheduled for the first half of 2024.

During their meeting, the Minister for Home Affairs put on the table the need to speed up negotiations to finalise the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. He also stressed the strengthening of Schengen, with the full incorporation of Romania and Bulgaria into the European area of free movement, supported by Spain and Hungary.

Among the objectives set by the Spanish Presidency of the EU, Grande-Marlaska highlighted the fight against online child sexual abuse and expressly thanked Pintér for the support shown by Hungary for this initiative. He also stressed the need to further strengthen all European police cooperation instruments and mechanisms in order to provide a more effective response in the fight against terrorism, violent radicalisation and organised crime.

Visit to CEPOL headquarters

Prior to the meeting with Minister Pintér, Grande-Marlaska visited the headquarters of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL), headed by Montserrat Marín, to whom he conveyed that police training and interoperability are one of the six priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the EU.

The Minister for Home Affairs expressed Spain's commitment to CEPOL and took advantage of the visit to formally invite the agency to the Informal Meeting of Interior Ministers to be held on 20 July in Logroño. Spain has also committed to collaborate in the organisation of the 11th CEPOL Management Board, which will take place in Aranjuez (Madrid) on 23 and 24 November.

The visit to CEPOL follows the Minister's previous visits to other European agencies in preparation for Spain's presidency of the European Union. On 11 November last year, Grande-Marlaska visited the headquarters of Europol and Eurojust, dedicated to police and judicial cooperation, respectively, in The Hague.

On 3 March, the minister met with the new executive director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), whose headquarters he visited in the Polish capital.

Non official translation