Press Release
Minister for Justice, Luc Frieden, on a working visit to Madrid

Date of release : 12-01-2005

Policy area : Justice and Home Affairs Justice and Home Affairs

The Luxembourg Minister for Justice and current president of the Council of the European Union responsible for justice and security issues, Luc Frieden, paid a working visit to Madrid on 11 January 2005. In the Spanish capital, he held talks with his Spanish counterparts José Antonio Alonso Suárez, Minister for Home Affairs, and Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Minister for Justice.

In Spain, a country badly hit by terrorism, Minister Frieden reiterated the importance the Luxembourg Presidency attaches to strengthening cooperation between Member States in the fight against international terrorism. On 11 March 2005, the first anniversary of the terrible attacks in Madrid, the European Union will take the opportunity to underline its determination to support the fight against terrorism and demonstrate the feeling of solidarity Europeans share with all victims of terrorism.

The Presidency stresses that the conclusions of the European Council of December 2004 relating to terrorism must be fully implemented. Particular attention will be paid to carrying out, in accordance with the scheduled deadlines, the measures outlined by the EU’s action plan. The fight against the constant threat of terrorism must be conducted within the framework of a global and integrated approach, strengthening cooperation at both national and international level.

"From now on, we must ensure that security and information services are not geared exclusively to safeguarding 'national security'. Their action must also integrate the concept of 'European security' in order to protect the internal security of all Member States", said the Luxembourg minister, highlighting the exemplary work of the Spanish authorities in this respect.

At European level, the Luxembourg Presidency will also focus on optimising information exchange between services and on developing synergies between the actors involved. European added value should be applied in order to protect against possible terrorist attacks on vital infrastructures, such as energy-supply and telecommunications installations.

Strengthening the European judicial area represents a key dossier of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For Luc Frieden, police and judicial cooperation at European level is an essential element for preventing and combating crime effectively. Therefore, automated information exchange, the European criminal record and operational police cooperation were at the centre of the talks with the Spanish ministers for justice and home affairs.