Committees of JHA Council hold discussions in Sofia

On 15 March 2018, Sofia hosted back-to-back meetings of the two strategic committees assisting directly the discussions within the Justice and Home Affairs Council - the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI) and the Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA i).

COSI reviewed best practices in the interaction between law enforcement and security services. The current trends in the fight against organised crime were discussed, with a focus on the current EU legal framework on organised crime group.

SCIFA reviewed the measures that could be taken jointly at EU level, in order to better manage migratory crises and address challenging situations. The Bulgarian Presidency will continue to seek for the balance and the right decision that is acceptable for all Member States, in response to the need of establishing a crisis management mechanism.

On 16 March, the two committees had a joint meeting and discussed how to counter migrant smuggling, in particular via the Western Balkans. It was agreed that the countries in the region should be involved to a bigger extent in the operational activities at EU level.